Aura Guardians in Time
by HollyKalina23
Summary: How DID Ash release Lucario from Sir Aaron's Aura Staff? Is there a connection other than aura? Follow this tale as Ash finds out more about his past, his family and more importantly, himself. Rating may change. Rating changed due to chapter 10. FINALLY UPDATED WITH CHAPTER 12! CHAPTER 13 IS A CONTEST!
1. Chapter 1

_When I was watching the Lucario Pokemon movie last week, I was wondering to myself. Was Ash the only one Lucario sensed with a powerful aura when he was released from Sir Aaron's Aura Staff? Maybe, maybe not. And how is Ash connected to Sir Aaron if not only by aura?_

_Starts during the ball in honor of Sir Aaron. Excuse me if I have misspelled Lady Rin's name. The first section may be similar to the movie but this is only to establish the basis of the story. I am making Pikachu a GIRL because she just seems to be and besides, there's another reason._

_**Disclaimer: **I do not own Pokemon, Ash, May, Brock, Dawn, Lucario or Sir Aaron. If I did, then Sir Aaron would be mine..._

**X-X**

The ballroom inside Cameron Palace was filled with cheerful guests, friends and travellers, each enjoying the festivities. Among the crowd were a few of our very own heroes.

Ash Ketchum sat in his small throne next to Lady Irene, Sir Aaron's Aura Staff in his lap. Pikachu and the other Pokemon were having fun on their own, eating whatever they could find. Grovyle just sat there with a twig in his mouth.

The Queen's maid had taken it upon herself to make sure that Ash stayed in the one place, until it was time to celebrate the night with the annual fireworks. Her Mime Jr. sat at Ash's feet, feeling his disappointment and copied his moves when he tried to join his Pokemon and when he leaned back in his chair, bored out of his mind.

Ash was thinking about the voice he heard when he was looking at the staff moments before. It had called out to Sir Aaron but he wasn't here. _Who could the voice be?_ he thought.

The night seemed to go by slowly. All the guest danced slowly with one another and sometimes switched partners to meet someone new.

A certain team of Pokemon thieves were mixed within the large crowd, the two human partners dancing together with incredibly ridiculous disguises. James' wild purple hair stood out from the rest of the guests but so did the flame-red hair of his dancing partner.

James noticed that Pikachu, along with May's and Ash's other Pokemon, were unguarded by their individual trainers, dancing and laughing to the music.

"Now is the perfect time to waltz off with some Pokemon," He smirked at Jesse. But it seemed she wouldn't hear of it. "Oh, don't be a drag. I want to boogie the night away!" She exclaimed excitedly, twirling James around and around until they were separated from one another.

Jesse found herself face to face with a handsome stranger. "You dance divinely."

Jesse blushed and sighed her greeting before continuing to dance as she had with James, twirling to her heart's content, her partner struggling to keep pace with her.

James, on the other hand, had wound up dancing with Ash's female friend, May. He refuses to look her directly in the eye, fearing she will recognize him and expose his presence to Ash. But this sparks a curiosity within May. "Have we met somewhere before?"

James chuckled nervously, still not making eye contact, "Oh, I get that all the time."

* * *

Underneath the table of food, Meowth is eating everything in sight.

He sighed happily, a full plate of food in his hands.

"I always prefer dining to dancing." He said. The plate was cleared in seconds.

Outside of the table cloth, Meowth hears Pikachu talking with her Pokemon friends. He peers his head out to see them exiting the room through the doorway near the table. Aipom and Pikachu were leading the group and Swellow and Grovyle were at the rear. They wanted to make sure they're smaller comrades didn't get into trouble while exploring the Palace.

Meowth was definately curious.

* * *

Kidd and Brock were dancing together, smiling. Brock was trying very hard not to blow this. Suddenly, Kidd stopped dancing and sighed, wiping sweat off her brow. "I sure could use a glass of punch."

Brock get hearts in his eyes and quickly agreed, screaming, "The lady wants punch!" In his effort to get the punch, he knocked a couple out of the way as he run over to the refreshment table on the other side of the ballroom.

Kidd smiled after him, thinking he was sweet. She blushed slightly but not noticeably. She then took off in the other direction, towards the doorway Ash's Pokemon has exited through, thinking to herself.

* * *

Aipom was leading the group now. They were just passing through an empty room in the Palace. As the last of the group, which was Grovyle, had exited out the other doorway, Meowth popped his head around the one that had entered the room from. He saw a flicker of Grovyle's tail as he left the room.

But as Meowth tried to shadow them, the door slammed back into him, knocking him into the fireplace.

Kidd entered the room, Meowth watching her from the fireplace, not wanting to make his presence known just yet. She seemed to be talking to someone. It was then Meowth noticed she wore a headphone.

"Hello, Kidd, how's the party?" The voice of en excited old man came through the headphone. "It's fantastic. Too bad you couldn't be here," Kidd replied, speaking into the mouth piece of the tool.

"One of us has to keep this outlet running," The old man teased back.

"For your information, I left the dance floor early to call you," Kidd retorted, "There's something I want to check out that could really pay off for us."

In the forest across the lake from the Palace, a jeep sat there, a satellite moving on it's roof. "It better. This operation is costing us a lot. We could be in serious trouble if this goes wrong," The old man spoke, his voice being transmitted from the jeep to a building in a city. The old man is named Banks and he is working out on his tread mill.

"I need to blueprints of the Palace." Kidd said.

"Could you wait a moment? I only have two minutes left."

"Banks." Kidd said warningly and jokingly.

"Alright. One minute," He added.

Soon, Banks was sending the blueprints over to Kidd. "Thank you." She said. Meowth watched her open the large window behind her and as she pulled off her evening gown to reveal a jump suit beneath. Kidd jumped out of the window, leaving Meowth stumped as to why.

* * *

Ash was still seated in his small throne, unable to even get something to eat but now he was looking at the painting of Sir Aaron with his staff. To do so, Ash had to tilt his head diagonally and lean on the edge of the chair. The Queen's maid cleared her throat and Ash jolted back to reality.

He was lost in his thoughts after the voice spoke again and didn't notice the maid telling him to stand up. He did so immediately, noticing Lady Irene had been waiting.

"Now, we pay one last tribute to the memory of Sir Aaron. Our new Guardian will give the signal to start the fireworks," Lady Irene addressed the guests. Ash gave the maid a confused look and muttered, "What signal?"

She sighed and pointed to the portrait of Sir Aaron. Ash understood then and lifted the staff over his head, giving the workers the O.K. to start the fireworks. They burst into the sky and amazed the people.

"_Sir Aaron, why?_"


	2. Chapter 2

_Second Chapter. Enjoy! I forgot to mention that I have changed one important detail from the movie._

**X-X**

"_I believed in you!_"

The mysterious voice screamed at Ash, a light beginning to shine from within the staff. It jolted around in Ash's hands and he tried to get a better hold of it. The Queen's maid noticed and asked whether something was wrong. "This staff is going crazy!" Ash cried, gripping it tighter as it almost flew out of his hands. The light had now formed a large ball over the aura crystal.

The crowd gasped at the sight before them, Mime Jr. climbing up to rest of the Queen's shoulder some feet away. Brock found May and sent her a worried look which she returned. May was hoping this wasn't going to hurt anyone, especially Ash.

Light flashed from the crystal to a place on the other side of the ballroom and the force knocked Ash over backwards, slamming his elbow down on the marble floor. He cried out in pain. The outline formed by the light was turning into a solid.

A Pokemon.

The Pokemon had blue and black fur in patches around its torso and had a black fur cross on its face. On its chest, there was cream coloured fur. White spikes were on the back of the Pokemon's paws and one was on its chest. The Pokemon had locks of fur sticking behind its head which could be brought up at will. The long blue tail was resting on the floor as the Pokemon was kneeling, it's black feet just visible from underneath its hips. It's eyes were closed but that doesn't mean the Pokemon couldn't see.

Its locks of fur lifted up, creating a wider range for the Pokemon's gift of Aura Sight to use.

The Pokemon could see the outlines of aura coming from the crowd. _Just average aura_, it thought to itself. None of the guests or travellers had an aura that the Pokemon recognized or was impressed by. The range in which the Pokemon could see aura was extended to include Ash, Lady Irene and her maid.

The Pokemon gasped as it saw Ash's aura, ocean blue in colour, flare up and out.

"_Sir Aaron!_" The Pokemon cried in joy and anger, rushing towards Ash. Ash was greatly confused when he was addressed as Sir Aaron by this mysterious Pokemon. "_Why did you abandon the Queen?_" It demanded, confusing Ash further.

"Telepathy," Ash understood with a start. "Answer me!" The Pokemon yelled at Ash.

"I'm sorry but I don't understand," He said. The Pokemon opened its sore and red eyes to find himself face to face with a thirteen year old boy. He jolted back, startled and gazed around the room, seeing the surprised faces of the people in the kingdom.

It seemed that the Pokemon couldn't handle being watched by so many people as it dashed from the room, through one of the open doorways.

* * *

Pikachu and friends were up in the attic, playing around with one another when Meowth suddenly crashed through the window. Landing on his back Meowth closed his eyes for a moment as he rested his head to keep the room still. Above him, Pikachu, Corphish, Swellow, Sceptile and Aipom were looking down, afraid Meowth was hurt, even if he was their enemy.

Aipom was standing next to Pikachu and in a pearl coloured flash of light, morphed into Mew. Each Pokemon let out a shriek of surprise.

Mew only giggled, flying around over their heads. As Meowth started to open his eyes, two Weaville jumped into the room, poised to attack. They smirked at Mew. One ran forward, the other close behind. The second one had a small tracking device that blinked with a small green light.

The first one tackled Mew into a wall, successfully pinning it making it hard for Mew to move. She whined in pain and struggled furiously. The other Pokemon were frozen with fear and surprise but Pikachu was the first to recover.

The second Weaville attached the small tracker to Mew's tail, just high enough so she wouldn't see it in flight and try to shake it off. They smirked at each other before releasing Mew. She staggered away, light-headed. Pikachu screamed profanities at the Weaville as Mew continued to stagger.

The Weaville duo then ran for the window and jumped into the night.

Running along the roof, they met up with their trainer. "Good job you two. Have a rest." The female trainer returned the Pokemon to their pokeballs in a flash of red light. Then, the female trainer stood up carefully on the top of the roof, coming into the moonlight.

It was Kidd.

Back with the other Pokemon, Pikachu had taken Mew into her arms, gently holding her until she caught her breath, stroking her head in a motherly manner. Mew smiled up at Pikachu. The other Pokemon breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Mew wasn't badly injured.

Just then, Munchlax came through the door with a huge bowl of fruit. Mew floated out of Pikachu's arms and over to Munchlax to grab an apple, taking an ellegant bite. This replenished some of her energy. A head of black hair popped through the doorway behind Munchlax, followed by a pair of yellow glasses.

Max gazed down to the Pokemon, all of them standing still apart from Mew. She just giggled and floated around Max's head. Max was in awe. "Wow, a Mew," He muttered.

Following Max, the Pokemon made their way back to the ballroom but, seeing as everyone had left to follow the mysterious Pokemon, Max lead the others out into the courtyard, Mew transforming into an Eevee.

The Eevee lead the group behind Max, giggling the whole way.

* * *

"That Pokemon is Lucario."

Ash looked at Lady Irene's maid. "Lucario?"

Lady Irene sighed. "More specifically, that Pokemon was Sir Aaron's Lucario and his apprentice."

Ash looked out into the night, wondering where Lucario could have run off to. May gave Ash a worried but sympathetic look. He always wanted to help someone in need whether they were bad or not.

* * *

Lucario looked around the room he was in. It was not the same as he remembered. His large bed was not on the floor in it's rightful place, his personal items missing from time. All that occupied space within the room now was some of the Queen's treasures. Lucario took a look in the row of glass-covered artifacts and saw her Highness, Lady Rin, Queen of the land.

Or so Lucario remembered. This time was different. Who knows what has changed.

There were other rows as well, each having the same amount of artifacts, some photographs, others jewellery and family heirlooms. Although there were photographs of other Aura Guardians, Lucario and Sir Aaron could not be found among them. Lucario wondered why this was.

Being lost in his thoughts, he did not hear footsteps enter the room until he heard a familiar, kind and gentle, female voice speak directly to him.

"Lucario, I am glad that you are safe. I feared you had run off by yourself and might have gotten into trouble," The voice of Lady Rin filled the quiet room. Lucario spun around and knelt down on one knee, cursing himself for letting his confusion cloud his senses.

"_Lady Rin_," He greeted formally through his telepathic channel. It seemed natural to address her by her name. Lucario had been a special friend of the Queen's and Sir Aaron and himself were allowed to use the Queen's name.

The woman sighed. "I am sorry, Lucario, but I am not Lady Rin. Lady Rin was one of my ancestors," She said, inching closer to Lucario.

Lucario heard her footsteps but couldn't force himself to shy away from them. She was the Queen after all.

He felt the presence of others within the room and the one boy called Ash whom he'd mistaken as Sir Aaron when he was released.

Lucario had no idea why this was.

As far as he knew, not even some of the more powerful Aura Guardians had ever come across anyone with remotely similar aura to another Aura Guardian. Lucario guessed it had something to do with how he was released.

"I am Lady Irene. Please, don't be frightened of us. We only wish to help you understand why you have appeared now, after three-hundred years," Lady Irene spoke with real compassion in her voice.

Lucario remembered when Lady Rin would speak with him quietly but still holding anger, fear and hope in her voice. It was supposed to be very unlady-like for a Queen of such a vast land.

Lucario felt saddened that all of his old friends were no longer with him and he still felt some anger towards Sir Aaron for betraying the Queen in his time. He also felt confusion. He didn't understand Sir Aaron's actions or how the war was halted.

He didn't notice that Lady Irene had pulled him into an embrace until he came face to face with her pink evening gown. He felt the unfamiliar pressure behind his eyes that would soon lead to tears streaming down his face.

Well, it would have had Lucario not sensed another powerful aura other than Ash's.

Lucario used his gift of vision to see said person's aura as his locks moved up to hover in the air, getting a better sense of the aura.

This time, the aura had a bright pink colour instead of Ash's and Sir Aaron's ocean blue but the bright pink was not the only colour to be seen. Flashes of ocean blue, identical to Sir Aaron and Ash, wove their way through this person's aura and flashed out in the same manner. The aura was that of a female and seemed oddly familiar to Lucario but he couldn't decide who he had known with similar aura.

Apologizing to Lady Irene, Lucario made a dash for the doorway, startling everyone. Ash was the first to recover from the shock and proceeded to chase after Lucario. He heard Ash yell his name but he kept running out past the courtyards gate. Ash's Pokemon chased after him, Pikachu and the transformed Mew in the lead. He sensed the footsteps of Ash and his Pokemon following him. Lucario was mildly surprised Ash, Pikachu and the Eevee were able to keep up with him.

Lucario spoke to Ash with his telepathy. "_Ash, I sense another aura close by. Their aura is powerful, kind but fierce and soothing. My guess is it is female. Follow me and I shall lead you to them_."

Ash nodded. "Show us the way, Lucario."


	3. Chapter 3

_I just want to say thank you for all the nice reviews I've received. Someone guessed that May and Ash are twins and they're Sir Aaron's twins. I'm sorry but that's not exactly right. Sir Aaron does have some part but later on. Maybe this chapter will help clear the confusion._

_Sorry for the delay. I hit a road block in my writing but I pushed through so now I'm good and cramming for my finals doesn't really help this story. It helps the writers block but not the story cause of my cramming hours: 9-3, 4-6 for the rest of the week and I'm also working on a possible Supernatural story. Tell me if you want me to write one._

_Third Chapter. Enjoy! Disclaimer in **first chapter**._

**X-X**

Lucario kept running, despite the feeling telling him that surprising this new person wasn't the best idea. Ash easily kept up pace with him, just as curious as he was. But Lucario was lost in his own thoughts.

_The only way someone would have the exact same aura as another person was if they were direct desendants, meaning blood relatives like children. Ash couldn't possibly be Sir Aaron's child and even if that _were _possible, Ash would probably have Sir Aaron's most valuable possession: the Aura Ring_, Lucario thought, trying to come up with possibilities of how Ash could have Sir Aaron's aura but not be a relative.

But the only possibility was if Sir Aaron broke the laws of an Aura Guardian. _He wouldn't do that. He always followed the laws closely. Why would he even think about breaking them?_

Ash wasn't fully in reality either. _If I have the same aura as Sir Aaron, is that how I freed Lucario?_

Pikachu and Mew, who had morphed into a Squirtle, followed, chatting freely. Ash had returned all of his other Pokemon before-hand. May's were still with Max.

Lucario could feel the aura getting closer and now, even Ash could sense it. _I could never sense aura before!_ He screamed in realization at himself. They kept running, trying to get faster but still keeping their stamina.

They ran across the bridge connecting the Palace to the town around it. Turning west, Lucario followed the direction of the aura into a small forest on the outskirts of the town. Some neighbourhood kids were playing a game near the edge of the forest, their parents watching happily.

A small campfire can be seen by Lucario and Ash from in between the trees and a blue and black Pokemon is sitting at the fire, moving its paws in front of itself to keep them warm. White braces covered a section of the Pokemon's forearms. Black fur covered the Pokemon's eyes and two locks of fur fell down next to the its small ears, beside its snout. Its blue tail wasn't as long as Lucario's and the Pokemon's feet were covered in black fur, making the Pokemon taller than the fire's flame.

With a start, Lucario realized the Pokemon was pre-evolutionized form, Riolu. But the Riolu wasn't the one exibiting the aura. It was its trainer who was sitting next to it, copying its motions. The trainer had long, black hair that looked a little red in the dark. Her hazel eyes followed every flicker of the flame in front of her. She wore a pair of loose blue jeans that reached just before the ground and a light purple and black shirt with a pattern on it. Her blue and white sneakers had pearl coloured laces that looped around the shoe once before tying.

Another trainer sat across from this one, her bright orange hair seemed to be giving off its own light. Her eyes stood out light flashlights in contrast with the darkness. She wore blue jean-shorts with suspenders and a yellow tank top. Her Togepi sat in her backpack, away from the campfire and was fast asleep.

Feeling two pairs of eyes on her and also the aura of two very powerful beings, the first trainer sighed. "You can come out from the forest. I won't bite you."

Ash jumped back to reality when he realized that Lucario had stopped but jumped again when the first trainer addressed them together. With a sigh, both exited the forest, Pikachu and the disguised Mew following, confused.

Ash recognized Misty immediately and smiled brightly, waving to his long-time friend. "Hey Misty! I didn't know you'd be out here."

Mew giggled.

A small green Pokemon flew from within the trees behind the female trainers (one of whom hasn't given a name for herself yet) and squeaked when she realized there were more people in the clearing than she remembered. Ash recognized the Pokemon as Celebi. Celebi looked closely to the new trainer she saw and the new Pokemon. She recognized Ash (much to her delight), Pikachu and the morphing Mew. She giggled when Mew transformed into her.

"Cel, Cele, Celebii, Cele, Celebii," She spoke, "(Don't copy me. You'll just give away your identity, Mew)."

Mew only giggled and returned to her original form, startling Ash and Lucario. The female trainers wasn't so surprised. "Took you long enough to get here, Mew," The first one said jokingly, "Did you find him?" She added in a serious tone. Mew nodded and began to speak. "Mew, Me, Meww. Meew," She said, "(Sure did. Took me a while though)."

The trainer nodded and then addressed her new company. "Hi, my name is Amy. I've been travelling around here with Misty, Celebi and my Riolu." She laughed at the look on Ash's face since he was still looking at Misty like he wanted to hug her but felt uncomfortable doing so. Amy then turned to Lucario.

"You have a powerful aura don't you, Lucario?" She asked. Lucario jumped back and only nodded. Amy chuckled at this. She bowed. "It's nice to meet both of you and I'm sure you already know Celebi."

Ash nodded. "Celebi and I go way back when I saved it from a forest fire," He informed Amy. She shook her head, laughing. "Celebi has definitely been talking about some amazing trainer but every time I asked, she refused to tell." Amy glared playfully at Celebi.

Celebi giggled and did a back flip in mid-air. Amy just rolled her eyes and looked back at Lucario. "Lucario, would you answer a simple question for me?"

Lucario nodded.

Amy smiled. "I was wondering, did you sense my aura from all the way in the Palace?" Lucario was shocked.

It seemed there was more to Amy than meets the eye.

* * *

"Man, where is everyone?"

Max and the other Pokemon were still waiting in the courtyard, having been unable to find May, Brock or even Lady Irene. All of the villagers had gone home and Max could only do one thing that was on all the Pokemon's minds:

Stay put.

* * *

Some time later, Ash became aware that all of his other Pokemon would be worried about him and so would May, Max and Brock. "Amy, Misty, I think Lucario and I need to get back to the Palace before someone worries too much." He hoped he wasn't sounding rude.

Amy nodded as Misty spoke. "I supposed they would get worried. Well, would you two mind having some company on the journey back?" She asked, Amy's Riolu standing up and nodding her head, excitedly. Amy laughed at her Riolu and gave her a look that Riolu understood as 'yes-we're-going-along-so-calm-down'.

Ash laughed and nodded. "We'd love some and I don't think you want to be camping around here when you could ask Lady Irene if she has a spare room to lend you guys."

Amy reached down and picked up her belongings and her belt of Poke-balls, Misty doing the same with her bag, being careful to not wake her Togepi. Riolu stood by her trainer.

"I think that's a good idea. I haven't really slept in a normal bed since my adoptive parents told me about being adopted a couple months ago. Celebi was apparently keeping an eye on me and she kind of filled me in with a lot of missing information in my life." Amy explained.

Ash shot Amy a confused look, as did Lucario, but she just laughed. "I'll explain later. We need to get back, remember?" She teased. Misty snickered.

Ash jolted out of his confusion and smiled.

* * *

By now, May and Brock had found Max, returned their Pokemon to their proper balls and were awaiting Ash's return. "Ash has been gone a while. I wonder if something happened." May was getting really worried. She held on to Max, just to know that he was still with her and not off doing something that could potentially be dangerous.

Brock placed a comforting hand on May's shoulder.

"Don't worry too much May. Ash is probably fine, he's had worse." That probably wasn't the best thing to say at the time.

"What do you mean 'he's had worse'?! She screamed at him, letting her over-protective side get the better of her. Brock stepped back slowly and May raged on, "What could possibly be worse than be missing?!"

"He could have drowned," Brock whispered, hoping May wouldn't hear.

Too bad for him, she did.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'HE COULD HAVE DROWNED'?!" She roared, ready to lunge at Brock. Brock screamed in fright and ran off, May hot on his heels.

Max shook his head. "This is just as bad as when Brock goes all 'lovey-dovey' on us."

Brock continued running but now May had stopped. She looked into the gardens and saw a small glint of light. Rushing over, she found that the light was actually a ring with the moonlight bouncing off of it. The ring had one word carved into the inside:

_Aaron_.


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter four here! I'm actually surprised that I have so much free time when I've been stressing over trials coming up:S_

_Sorry for the small delay, I've been trying to get the next chapter done earlier that usual and hopefully, I'll have started the next one after that by the time I finished the next one._

_I don't know whether to classify this as a filler seeing as it just describes some of Amy's pokemon. Let me know what you think._

_Enjoy!_

**X-X**

The ring had a small blue stone in the centre, surrounded by silver. The ring wasn't dirty or even dented, considering it looked as though it was thrown into the garden. May continued to examine the ring but she was startled as a familiar and loud voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Hey May, what are you doing all the way over there?" Ash yelled teasingly. He laughed as he saw May jump up and out from the garden.

May turned around to see Ash with two girls, one with strikingly bright orange hair, the other seemed a bit plain. They both had their bags and individual Pokemon. She saw Max chatting with Ash and Brock about something she couldn't hear, although he looked excited. Brock was chatting to the orange haired girl for a moment before he saw the new girl.

Lets just say that the first girl didn't seem as important now.

"Oh, what a lovely maiden we have here." He grasped her hand in both of his, startling the plain looking girl. She looked slightly frightened now. "Might I ask what name is bestowed on this young maiden?" The hearts in his eyes gave the girl an unwanted shiver.

"My name is Amy and for the record, I don't like being called a 'maiden', having random, weird boys grabbing my hands and freaking me out. So I suggest you back off a little or I'll make you." You wouldn't want to be caught in this mess right now. Amy smirked.

Brock squealed in shock and ran to hide behind Ash, who laughed wholeheartedly. May and the orange haired girl snickered and the three of them rolled their eyes.

"Come on Brock, you've seen the girl for what? Five seconds? And you're already hitting on her? That's a new record even for you," The orange haired girl snickered, trying to conceal her amusement. Ash piped in, "Yeah Brock, you haven't even done that with the Nurse Joys or Officer Jenny's."

Brock pouted (such a weird image to imagine) and huffed over to the Pokemon still out of their Pokeballs. Ash turned to May and realized suddenly that she had no idea who had beside her. "Ah, May this is Amy and Misty," He pointed to each in turn, "They were camping out in the forest and I thought maybe Lady Rin could offer them a place to stay for the mean time."

Ah, Ash. Always considerate of others.

"I'm sure Lady Irene would agree but she needs to see Lucario first," May reminded him. Ash did an anime-face-vault. "Aww, man I forgot. Come on Lucario, race ya there!" Ash shouted over his shoulder, taking off towards the Palace. Lucario sighed and shook his head but none-the-less, followed Ash.

That left Misty, Amy, Brock, May and Max together.

"Hi, I'm Max. What's your name?" Max, being a kid, had to look up at the new friends his sister and her friends knew. Misty smiled and introduced herself. "I'm Misty. I came here from all the way in Cerulean City, near Ash's home town. I'm a big fan of water Pokemon. Would you like to meet one?" She asked.

Max's eyes grew wide with excitement and he nodded his head rapidly. Misty laughed and produced a small Pokeball from her belt. Pressing the tiny button, the ball enlarged before Misty threw it into the air, shouting, "Starmie, I choose you!"

Max smiled at the use of Ash's famous catch-phrase.

A white light streamed out of Misty's Pokeballand on to the ground, taking the shape of a ten-pointed star. when the light faded, the star-shaped Pokemon jumped a foot in the air and spun around, doing a sort of mid-air cartwheel. The Pokemon, named Starmie, had a red jewel in the centre of its body, surrounded by gold to brighten the contrast of the Pokemon.

Starmie cried it's name excitedly, jumping over to Brock and hugging his legs. He laughed. "It's good to see you again, Starmie."

"Well, you know that I have a Riolu in front of me but I also have a couple other Pokemon. I want you to meet my best friends. Go!" Amy yelled, releasing all of her Pokemon from their respective balls.

The first flash of white light gave way to a very jumpy Pokemon. The light molded into the shape of a Pokemon with a large head, two small ears visible at the sides. Its mouth molded into a permanent smile. Protruding out of its lower back was a purple tail which had a skin coloured hand attacked to it. The Pokemon stated its name, "Aipom!"

The next flash of light shaped to formed a small mouse like Pokemon, smaller than Pikachu but with the same lightning bolt tail. it's small, pointed ears were capped in black fur, brightening the naturally bright yellow of the rest of its body. The lightning bolt tail was covered in black fur, unlike Pikachus, and its cheeks had small, pink circles that looked as though it was blushing. Black fur made up a collar on the Pokemon and it smiled at Max, May, Brock and Misty before shouting its name, jumping up. "Pichu!"

Another flash formed a small four-legged creature. Attached to its head was a green leaf that fell back over its head and down to its small, white tail. Around the Pokemons neck was a series of small nubs that were coloured a darker green than the Pokemons skin. The Pokemons blue eyes stood out against its skin, surprising Brock. "Chikorita!" It yelled, sounding like a female.

The last flash was the most surprising, however, as this Pokemon wouldn't exactly be pictured to be partners with Amy. A small snout with a black nose was the first thing to be seen when the light died down. Its large brown ears stood out on the top of its head and its black eyes studied Ash carefully. Like Pichu, this Pokemon also had a collar around its neck, only thicker. Its tail looked like a tear drop with mixed white and brown fur. This Pokemon was a bit more friendly than the others but also seemed more in league with Riolu in the field of power.

This Pokemon May recognized more than the others. "Eevee, right?"

Amy nodded and knelt down to look at her Pokemon, all of them turning to face her without a command. Pichu smiled softly at her and grabbed her arm in a small hug. She smiled back at Pichu.

"As you can see, most of my Pokemon are different. Chikorita's a grass type, Riolu a fighting type, Pichu an electric and Eevee a normal. Aipom is just silly," Amy giggled and her Aipom giggled along with her.

Brock smiled softly at Amy but she didn't notice. For Brock, Amy was the same with her Pokemon as Ash was with his. So friendly and caring. With a jolt, he realized that Ash would be waiting for them all at the Palace. Brock gathered Ash's Pokemon and ushered May, Max and Amy toward the Palace, saying, "Ash is probably waiting for us."

This statement brought a level of excitement from May that she did not understand. But it also brought a familiar emotion.

"Brock, how exactly could Ash have drowned?"

Brock paled. _Oops._


	5. Chapter 5

_Okay, I'm kind of depressed that not one person has taken my poll yet on whether I should do a Supernatural story. If you guys don't know what that is, it's a show on Fox 8 in Australia and stars Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles as two brothers named Sam and Dean Winchester. Google it for more info._

_I have recently been very sick and I'm just in the last stages of recovery so I hope I can update more now that I'm getting better. _

_Well, I've started this at 10:08pm so I don't know how much I'll get down but I'm hoping my writers block is gone for good!_

_This chapter has a twist. Look out for it._

_Enjoy!_

**X-X**

In the throne room, Lucario knelt in front of his Queen, Ash and Pikachu standing behind him. He could feel their eyes, watching carefully. Lady Irene's voice filled the room, addressing Lucario. Her maid was by her side and her Mime Jr. was perched on her shoulder.

"Lucario, I wish to know what happened between you and Sir Aaron as our legends may not be correct. In the legend, Sir Aaron was a great hero for this village and the Palace but you disappeared from battle. Can you explain this?" Lady Irene asked kindly. She knew Lucario was still getting used to the fact that alot of his friends in the Palace are gone and she didn't want to be demanding for answers.

Lucario sighed and began his story.

"Two huge armies on opposite sides had sworn to defeat the other and our Palace was right in the middle of it all. I went out to see if I could stop the fighting but nothing could be done. They were all too far gone for my help," Lucario began.

"But if that's true, then how did Sir Aaron stop the fighting by himself, to put the Pokemon at peace?" Ash voiced his curiosity, taking a step towards Lucario. "What?" Lucario said.

"According to our legend, Sir Aaron was able to find a way to stop all of the fighting and save the village, the Palace and all of the citizens," Lady Irene informed Lucario. "Impossible!" He cried, standing up. "Sir Aaron deserted the Queen! And he deserted us," He added in whisper.

No-one heard that last, broken whisper of Lucario's. No-one but Ash.

But Ash wasn't concentrating on the present at the moment. He was fighting a growing headache, trying not to let his pain show but it was becoming more and more difficult to do so.

"Sir Aaron fled battle and trapped me inside the staff without so much as an explanation." Lucario shook with anger. He had trusted Sir Aaron more than any other human in his existence and he had betrayed him. He had betrayed the Queen and the one person who would be excluded from all of the legends.

"In the legend, Sir Aaron is a hero," A voice called from the doorway. Those already in the room turned to see May, Max, Amy, Misty and Brock at the doorway. Brock was trailing behind May. If you were Brock, you would too.

The other Pokemon were in from of May. Ash's Pokemon and the ever-changing Mew ran up to Ash, all of them chatting excitedly. He smiled. Mew had transformed herself into a Horsea, bouncing on her tail.

"Sir Aaron was a hero in the legend and he saved all of the towns people by preventing the battle between those two sides but no-one knew how he did it. At least, no-one that was _human_," Amy spoke again, walking up to Ash and the Pokemon. Ash's Pokemon all stood around the Horsea in a protecting barrier but Amy just put her hand out to it.

"Mew, do you remember what happened?"

Everyone in the room, except Amy and the Pokemon, gasped. Mew giggled and transformed back in to her natural form, floating above the other Pokemon and Ash. "Mew, Mew, Me, Mew," She said, "(Yes, I do remember)." She smiled but soon it dropped from her face as she looked down at Ash. He had his eyes closed and one of his hands was in a fist by his side.

"Mew, Meew, Me, Meww, Mew." She floated down to be level with Ash's face. "(Ash, are you alright?)."

Amy understood what Mew was saying as she had spent so much time around her that she could communicate with her language. She looked as well and saw Ash was in pain, his eyes closing tighter than before. "Ash?" She whispered, knowing that loud noises would hurt alot for someone with a headache.

Ash heard his name being called but it sounded so far away. He tried to concentrate on it but that was just making his head spin. Ash opened his eyes but all he saw were Amy's.

Ash staggered back, Brock running forward to catch him before he fell. Lucario just stood by and watched as all of Ash's friends gathered around him, calling his name. Lucario sensed Ash was in pain and he also sensed that Ash was about to be given something Lucaro would or would not understand.

Ash's vision began to flash as a vision of the past tore it's way to the surface of Ash's mind.

**-Memory Start-**

_A small house stood in a field of grass and animals. A well stood in front of the left side of the house, off to the side to get whoever would enter the room a view of the mountains and the river not too far from the house. Three blue Pokemon ran around in the front yard. Ash recognized them as Riolu._

_They chased one another, tackling them to the ground and laughing. Each Riolu was about the same height and close to the same build but they were different genders. Ash could tell that one was a female by the way her tail was higher than the other two. Then Ash heard the voice of someone very familiar call out to the Riolu's._

_"_**Children, you are needed**_," The voice was not spoken aloud but rather spoken telepathically. Ash turned his head and saw Lucario standing there in the doorway of the house with another Lucario, a female, by his side. She smiled up at him and he smiled back, gazing into her eyes. _

_The Riolu children raced toward their father, laughing the entire way. Lucario lead his three children to one of the back rooms. _

_Inside the room, a set of draws was by the bed. A closet that was home to a reasonable amount of garments and a large bed, enough to fit two people. A man and a woman sat on the bed, another woman off to the side, smiling at them and Ash saw Lady Rin by the window, also smiling. _

_The woman on the bed was dressed in sleeping garments, sweat covering her flushed form. Her dark brown hair was messed up and the bags under her dark brown almost black eyes told Ash she hadn't been to sleep in a while but she was tired. She looked up at the man beside her._

_The man was dressed in blue boots with yellow laces, a blue vest, also with yellow laces to match his boots. He wore a pair of light gray slacks that tucked into his boots and a light gray, long sleeved shirt under his vest. Attached around his waist was a small brown bag that looked a little like Max's bag. On his hands were blue gloves with yellow lines, tracing around a large, palm sized pearl on the back of his gloves. The man's blue-black hair spiked up and all over the place. _

_Ocean blue eyes looked down at the woman and he smiled._

_For the first time, Ash noticed that this man was Sir Aaron and in the arms of the woman, two small bundles were being held to her chest. Ash's vision focus on those bundles and he saw the heads of two children who looked to have just been born. _

_With a start, he realized that Sir Aaron had not followed the rules of an Aura Guardian. He had a family._

_Both children seemed to sense their parents watching and opened their eyes. One of the babies had hazel eyes. The other had almost black coloured eyes. They both smiled at their parents and not one person had to say a word. Lady Rin smiled softly at the scene in front of her. _

_It was a rare moment a Queen was there to see a child born. _

_And with the children's parents so caring, Lady Rin knew these children would grow up to be great people._

_Ash felt something in the back of his mind and he was slowly being pulled away from the memory. He tried to scream, "_**No!**_", but nothing came from his mouth and the last thing he saw before he plunged into darkness was the door to Sir Aaron's home, a little Riolu standing there, watching him._

**-Memory Finish-**

Amy felt Ash was on the edge of fainting before he felt it himself. She instructed Brock to lift him up and asked the Queen if they could put him to rest. The Queen agreed. But there was something on Amy's mind.

What happened to Ash?


	6. Chapter 6

_So sorry for not updating sooner, I have been sick recently and very tired but I'm trying. Plus, I have an assignment for school that has to be finished soon. I don't know whether this chapter is good or not but I couldn't think of anything else to put into it. FanFiction is also screwing with my saves so I can't put anything (like this authors note) in the centre of the page. I'm gonna talk to them about it._

_Also, as I've said, I broke my hand (the Authors Note was made when it was a week after, when I could move my fingers) two and a half weeks ago and I got the cast off just in the past couple of days and I was writing like crazy for this to come out._

_Hope you enjoy!_

**X-X**

Ash was placed on the bed in the room Lady Irene had allocated for him. His friends were extremely worried and there was tension in the air. No-one had any idea of what had happened to Ash.

But none of them were more worried than May and Amy.

For May to be worried was understandable, she felt really close to Ash. But Amy was a mystery.

Brock put a cool wash cloth over Ash's forehead as he was running a fever. The Nurse Joy who lived in the Palace was tending to Ash, checking his vitals and making sure that there was nothing seriously wrong. Amy stood in the back of the room, leaning against the wall while Ash's friends were right beside his bed.

After a few minutes, Nurse Joy could find nothing wrong with Ash apart from his fever. "There is nothing that could have caused the fever or cause him to collapse," She'd said.

An hour had past and Ash had not even stirred. Amy was confident he wouldn't wake until tomorrow. She excused herself to get some fresh air. Mew followed her and Celebi met her outside.

"What should I do? I think Ash may be seeing what is still locked inside his mind but I can't be sure and even if he is, I can't tell him why he is or how I can help with it. This is going to be so hard on him. Especially when he finds the ring I left in his room for him. What should I do?" Amy moaned in conflict. She ran a hand through her hair and sighed.

Mew nuzzled against her cheek and that brought a smile to Amy's face. "Mew, Meww, Mee, Mewe, Me, Meeeww, Meew, Mew, Me, Me, Meww, Mew, Mew, Meeww," Mew said, "(I think we should see if he is seeing things first. Then maybe we should tell him the truth like Celebi told you)."

Amy nodded at Mew's logic. But there was something nagging in her brain that said telling Ash the truth that Celebi, Mew and herself knew was a bad idea. Something told her he wouldn't take it the way she had.

Back in Ash's room, Brock kept sneaking glances at May, trying to tell if she was still mad at him for not explaining how Ash had 'had worse'. She seemed very worried but Brock couldn't tell if there was anger in her eyes. Just small tears.

May took Ash hand in hers, silently begging him to tell her what was wrong. When nothing happened, she sighed.

Something clicked inside her head and subconsciously, she reached in to the pocket of her dress and pulled out the silver and blue ring she had concealed there when she had been startled by Ash out in the garden. The single in-graved word, _Aaron_, glittered in the light. But then May's hand started moving, almost against her will. She tried pulling her hand back but she wasn't strong enough to.

"Brock?" She called, unsure if he was still in the room because it was quiet.

"Yeah?" Oh good, he was still there. Mays hand still moved.

"I think I need some help," She replied in a strained voice, trying to restrain her hand. Brock thought it had something to do with the unconscious state of their friend so he rushed over. Only to be surprised when he saw May's hand grasp Ash's wrist tightly, the silver ring still clutched within its fingers.

Brock wrapped his long fingers around May's hand and pulled. The hand didn't budge. If anything, it pulled back, jerking itself forward. "May, joke's over now. Quit kidding around," Brock said tiredly. Brock lifted his hand and pinched the bridge of his nose. He had a headache from being inside so much.

"I'm n-not doing a-a-anything!" May cried, desperately trying to gain control of her hand back, pure panic on her face when it seemed to pull harder against her will.

Once Brock realised that May wasn't joking, he immediately went back to her side, pulling at her waist this time. Both trainer and breeder tried frantically to break whatever spell was on May's hand but it was just too strong for both of them.

Some unseen force lifted Ash's hand up and off the bed, hovering a few inches in the air. May's hand had decided it had had enough of being pulled back by Brock and May so it launched itself forward, slipping the silver ring on Ash's hand.

May's and Brock's mouths were open, neither of them willing to say anything.

Then, a bright light started to glow from the ring, filling the room and blinding the trainer and breeder. Both felt the familiar feeling of unconsciousness creep into their minds like a dark wave.

Soon, they were on the floor with their eyes closed. The light was still bright, going under the door to Ash's room.

Well, at least May got control of her hand back.

* * *

**xXx**

_I'm sorry I spent so long getting a new chapter typed up. I couldn't remember my original idea as I was off FanFiction for a little while so I had to improvise. I like this version better though. Sorry it's so short._

_Hope you enjoyed and watch out for more!_


	7. Chapter 7

_I'm so sorry I haven't been updating much lately. I've just finished my year 10 exams so now I'm a year 11 student! Yay! Plus I've had a MAJOR bout of writers block in the last few weeks. I started this chapter a month ago and I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out but I'm happy with it._

_The last chapter was a bit of a cliffy so this chapter will sort of set a lot of things straight. Mostly though, this will be just about Ash and that little dream type thing he had in chapter five. _

_After this chapter, I may take a small hiatus until I've gotten over my writers block. I don't know for sure but I'll post an author's note if I am._

_Enjoy!_

_P.S. THERE HAD BEEN A SMALL EDIT TO THIS CHAPTER AS OF 8TH OF NOVEMBER 2011!_

**X-X**

She gasped, clutching at her heart. She sensed something was wrong. But she also knew that what ever this was, Fate had dealt the cards to play exactly as they were.

Her pokemon surrounded her, worried for their trainer. They knew that she wouldn't have gasped if everything was fine.

Panting, the girl threw the sheets off her body, leaping out of the warm and comfortable bed she was resting in. She rushed over to her backpack and started searching around. After a moment, her hand grasped at a cool, smooth object. She smiled. Found it!

Pulling her hand out of the backpack, her pokemon saw that her hand held a silver necklace with an ocean blue gem in the middle of a large oval. She smiled softly, remembering the day her mother left to her with a note, telling her it would be one of the most important things in her life.

But now was not the time to get lost in memories as the necklace glowed, reacting to something outside the rooms walls.

**X-X**

_Ash was sure this was a dream. Real life couldn't make you feel so light nor could it make you feel this free._

_The scene in front of Ash played in full motion, as if he was watching a home movie with his Mom. Light filtered in through the stain-glass windows and shined on the woman playing with her two children. The children were older than Ash had seen them last. The child with hazel eyes was a girl and she was just beginning to stand up. Once she had gotten all the way to her feet, her mother held her arms out for her daughter to walk to her._

_The other child, whom had almost black eyes, sat in content beside his mother, patiently watching his sister attempt to walk for the first time. There was a small smile on his lips. _

_Ash watched the scene, smiling softly himself. Without the small family knowing it, Ash watched silently. He noticed subtle differences between the twins other than their gender. The girl was just a bit taller than the boy and her features were just a tad softer. The boy had soft features as well but his eyes were piercing. _

_A Riolu came running in through the door followed by it's siblings. They were giggling. The woman sighed but smiled at the Riolus. She knew they'd just come to watch. _

_"**Amy, come closer, dear. I'll catch you if you fall**," The woman said gently, smiling at the small girl. _

_Ash felt his jaw drop at the child's name. The girl giggled but moved her feet forward. Ash watched in amazement as the girl walked with astonishing grace for a toddler. Once the child had made her way to her mother just a few short feet away, she giggled excitedly and clapped her hands together. _

_The woman laughed gently, taking her daughter into her arms. _

_The sound of clapping followed and both the woman and her children looked to the doorway. Sir Aaron stood there with Lucario by his side. They both looked extremely happy. Placing her daughter's feet back on the floor, the woman watched as Amy ran over to her father, laughing when he picked her up and spun her around. _

_The little boy smiled from his place on the floor and stretched his arms up, trying to gain the attention of his mother._

_The woman picked up her son, tickling him lightly. Ash chuckled and grinned at the love he could feel from the family. He knew they would be very close in the years to come. _

_Sir Aaron sat down beside the woman, giving her a passionate kiss. Lucario shooed his children from the room before he left himself._

_"**So my little princess started walking on her own today, huh**?" Sir Aaron whispered, feeling immensely proud. The woman nodded, smiling brightly. They both looked at Amy, who smiled and blushed, buring her face into her father's shoulder. _

_"**You should have known our kids would get your stubborn attitude, Aaron**," The woman replied, sighing. Sir Aaron put an arm around the woman's shoulders, making sure to keep a good grip on Amy so she wouldn't fall._

_**"Alyce **(1)**, you know the kids have some of your qualities as well. Just look at Ash**," At this, the older Ash gasped,"**He's just sitting in your arms quietly. We both know Amy is the loud, playful one and Ash is the more quiet one**," Sir Aaron finished._

_Ash spun his head around and looked down at the Ash in Maira's arms. Now that he looked closely, Ash could see this boy was himself. He wondered why this Ash looked familiar; they're the same person!_

_Just like before, Ash felt he was being pulled from the memory but he couldn't stop it. He knew screaming for help wouldn't work but his body betrayed his logic. He screamed, no sound coming out. Some unknown force was moving him away from the family. _

_If Ash hadn't wanted to stay, he'd be laughing as he felt as though he was flying._

_But that wasn't the case. _

_With one last glimpse of the happy family, Ash fell into darkness._

**X-X**

She ran down the halls of the castle, wanting to reach her new friends. The closer she got, the more her necklace reacted. _'Damn it! Why now? I don't know how I'm going to explain this_!' She thought, running faster than before.

Skidding to a halt, she saw she had arrived in front of a room. Her necklace glowed brightly, signalling this was the room that held what the necklace was reacting to. She took a deep breath and slowly walked inside.

Immediately, she was blinded by the bright light coming from the bed. With her hand covering her eyes, she inched closer, being mindful of the bodies on the floor that were casting shadows. Reaching out, she felt a hand on the bed. She grabbed it, holding in hers, whispering quietly.

The light died down until the room was lits by the lights from the ceiling. She opened her eyes and staring down into the eyes of her brother.

"Amy," He whispered, tears filling his eyes.

"I'm sorry." **(2)**

**X-X**

**(1) - Pronounced as Alice. I actually edited Ash's mother's name on 8th of November, 2011. It used to be Maira but it's now been changed.**

**(2) - This will be explained in the next chapter.**

I have just a couple of things to say here. One, if I take a hiatus, it will only be for a couple of weeks. Two, any questions on this chapter, PM or review and I will answer. Thanks for everyone who has stuck with the fanfic so far. I'll keep trying to do my best for all my readers.

**Please review. Reviewing makes for a happy authors which makes for more chapters which makes for more happy readers!**


	8. Chapter 8

_Well, guys. It looks like Aura Guardians in Time won my poll! Thank you to everyone who voted and I hope you all enjoy this new chapter. Next story to be updated will be the one that came second on my poll so look out for that update too._

_Once again, thank you for voting and enjoy the winning update! I worked really hard on this and it came out over 4000 words! Yaaay!_

_Special thank you to 100-percent-Empoleon for reviewing this story! You rock!_

_P.S. Just so every body knows, after this chapter, I'm going to have Mew, Celebi and any other non-talking pokemon typed up with actual speech and then another character translating because it's just annoying to keep typing the pokemon's name over and over again so I can have it speak. Okay? Okay!_

_P.S.S. Chapter edited again on 19th of Feb 2013. I had to correct a few names and take out something because I decided to go in a different direction I had been._

_Enjoy!_

**X-X**

"Ash, I'm so sorry. I wanted to get to you earlier and tell you everything but we got lost and met Misty and when we finally got here and found you, it was already too late. The subconscious block on your mind had already started crumbling before you even got to Cameron and once you arrived, it crumbled further. Add me into the mix and the block shattered completely," Amy said in a rush, sitting beside a confused and tired Ash.

Ash looked at Amy with bleary eyes. Amy, _his sister_, just stared back, a pleading expression on her face. He hadn't realised but now that he took a closer look, he could see the family resemblance between himself and Amy. Ash suddenly grasped Amy's arms and pulled her roughly onto him, wrapping his arms around her in the process. Almost silently, he cried. He cried for the sister he'd never known but had only just found, he cried for the parents he never knew but suddenly missed terribly and he cried for himself, feeling as though the world had placed its weight on his shoulders once again.

Amy held her brother as he sobbed into her shoulder. Her heart was breaking at the pain she knew her brother was experiencing, having known one life and then being told and having seen in his dreams that he'd been born into a whole new life. Ash had to be feeling like everything he'd ever known was a lie and everyone he knew were the liars.

Suddenly, Ash's head snapped up. "I'm adopted," He said in a quiet voice which was slowly rising to a shout, "I'm adopted. That means that my mom knew I wasn't really her son and she lied to me, straight to my face for years!"

Ash pushed Amy onto the bed and stood up, going to pace across the floor but as suddenly as he stood up, Ash fell backward onto the bed, feeling weaker than he was when he awoke. Amy rushed to tend to him, reprimanding him quietly. "Ash! Don't try to stand when you're this weak. I don't want you to have a relapse and collapse on us again!" Immediately, Ash shrunk sheepishly as Amy gave him a once-over and checked for any further injury. "Ash, I know everything in your head is jumbled up right now. Mine was too when I found out. I can't really explain all of the details because I was in shock when Mew told me so it didn't sink in. I'll call her in here and she'll explain it to you," Amy said softly, "You understand Mew just like I do, don't you?"

Ash couldn't help but nod, feeling a sense of delayed shock sinking into his body and beginning to seep into his bones.

Sighing as she recognized the signs of shock in Ash's features. Figuring she'd better call Mew outside the room so as not to startle Ash, Amy walked around the bed towards the door, suddenly tripping over something in the process. Groaning, Amy looked back to see that she had tripped over Brock who was unconscious next to May on the floor. Amy blanched, finally realising why she felt Ash's powers unlock and react with her own. Somehow, May or Brock had found the ring that now adorned Ash's right ring finger, the same ring that had adorned Amy's and Ash's own father's right hand, and the ring had reacted to Ash's almost identical aura, forcing it's way onto it's new master's hand.

Slowly, Amy lifted May up into her arms and placed her on the second bed in the room, doing the same with Brock when she was finished so May and Brock lay on either side of the second bed that was big enough for three people to lay comfortably. Ash watched with restrained worry for his two friends.

Rushing over to Ash, Amy said in a hurried voice, "Ash, take the ring off your finger and look inside it. Now!"

Ash jumped at Amy's sudden demanding tone but obeyed and slipped the ring off his finger, pausing for a second to ponder over how it had come to rest on his right ring finger in the first place, and looked on the inside edge. The letter of the name _Aaron_ glowed a firey blue and new letters were twisting themselves over Aaron's name, melting into the metal and erasing all evidence of the letters' existance, replaced by the name _Ashton_.

"Ashton?" Amy said quietly, holding in a giggle. Ashton was a funny name.

Ash grumbled silently for a moment. "Yeah, Ashton. Apparently, my mom always told me that my name was 'chosen for me'. How can I trust her knowing she lied to me for so many years?" Tears began to form in Ash's eyes.

His sister's eyes mirrored the new wetness in his. "Ash, she did what she thought was best for you. Trying to explain to you that you were adopted and how your birth parents could never be found isn't just hard for you to hear but also hard for your mom to explain. My parents had the same trouble. I know because after Mew revealed everything to me, I confronted my parents, also furious with them. They both burst out in tears - and knowing my dad it's very hard for him to even form tears in his eyes he's always trying to be that strong - and spilled everything to me, their fears, my adoption, how they found me and adopted me after the search for my parents kept turning up dead end after dead end. I'd felt so betrayed that I hadn't even thought about how they were feeling, knowing this huge secret all my life. I think they were slightly relieved when I told them I knew. That way they only had to fill in the blanks and not the whole story," Amy said before flipping over the necklace around her neck so Ash could see the name on the back: _Amelia_.

"And don't think you got the only wierd name here, bucko. Try having Amelia and then you can complain." Amy smiled as her last sentence brought a smile and a genuine, hearty laugh from her brother. "And just so you know, I'm older, by three minutes." She beamed, even as Ash quickly rose from the bed and began chasing her down the hall way, the siblings laughing the whole way.

* * *

"Mew, Meeew, Mew, Mew, Meew, Me, Mew," Mew said, "(The child knows. I have to explain it to him now)."

"Cele, Celebii, Celeb, Celebii, Cele, Celee," Mew's companion, Celebi, said, "(It seems like Amy also needs more answers)."

"Mew, Meww, Meeew, Me, Meeww, Meew, Meww, Mewe, Mew, Mew, Meew," Mew replied, "(Neither twin knows how they got to this time. Can you try to help me explain it to them?)."

Celebi nodded. "Celebii, Cele, Celeb, Celebii," she said, "(I'll do what I can)."

"_Ash is a very strong willed and bright child, Mew. Explaining to him his forgotten past and his true family will be the easy part. Having him accept that he is the child of a great hero and that he was born over three hundred years ago will be most difficult_," A new voice said telepathically.

The two conversing pokemon turned and found Mew's clone, Mewtwo, standing behind them, eyes searching out over the valley. His eyes flashed in the moonlight and both Mew and Celebi could see the wonder shining in his eyes for the beautiful and lustrious valley that had become one of nature's treasures. Mew smiled and flew closer to Mewtwo, floating beside the pokemon who she felt was almost like her brother.

"Meew, Mew, Me, Mew, Meeew, Mewww, Meeww, Meeww, Mee, Mew, Meww," Mew said, "(Ash has face so much in his short life. This new information may prove to be too much)." Mew worried that Ash would break under the pressure that had settled in place on his shoulders from the first time they'd met if more information was added. The pressure of his existance and true family might cause him to crack at first and then shatter completely. Mew didn't want to have any chance of that happening to Ash but if she kept the truth of his birth, his family and his existance from Ash, she knew that it would only cause more harm and less comfort.

"Celebi, Celebii, Cele, Celeb, Bii," Celebi replied softly, floating over to comfort her friend, "(We have no choice. He needs to know)."

"_Celebi is right. Ash can handle this, it just won't be easy. We can't keep him in the dark. We can only be truthful and lend a comforting hand is necessary_," Mewtwo said solemnly, letting his psychic energy blanket Mew in a soothing embrace.

Sighing, Mew nodded, knowing they were both right.

* * *

Laughter greeted Mew and Celebi when they suddenly popped in on the long-lost twins while in the royal garden Lady Irene was allowing them to use. Ash had pinned Amy to the ground and was tickling her thoroughly, his own laughter mingling with hers. Mew smiled with tears in her eyes and Celebi giggled along with the children. Ash suddenly stopped and leaned back on his knees, smiling when he saw Mew and Celebi. Amy panted for a moment after Ash stopped and tilted her head, smiling and waving to the pokemon also.

After helping Amy to her feet, Ash suddenly bombarded the pokemon with his questions. "Who am I? How did I get to this time? Who are my real parents? Is Amy my sister? Are we twins? Why were we brought here?"

"Ash! Calm down and let Mew and Celebi speak," Amy reprimanded him softly, grasping his arm to keep him from uttering another question.

Mew just giggled at the siblings' exchange. "Meew, Me, Mew, Meeew, Meww, Mewww, Meeeew, Me, Mew, Meew, Meew, Mew, Meew, Meeew, Meeww, Mew, Me, Me, Mew, Meew, Meeww, Meeww, Meew, Mew, Mee, Mee, Meew, Meeww, Meeeew, Meeeew, Meeeeww, Mee, Mew, " she said, "(To answer all of your questions in order Ash, you are Ashton Rin and Amy, you are Amelia Raye. Your mother wanted you to have two names, even though we didn't use last names in those times. Celebi brought you here. You're parents were Sir Aaron and his wife, Alyce. Amy is your sister and yes, you are twins. And as for why you were brought here, think you can sit long enough for me to tell you the whole story?)"

Ash had the decency to blush.

Once they were all seated, Mew began to tell the tale.

**-Story (Mew's POV)-**

_I'd been trying to care for the Tree of Beginning as it had started to become restless due to the impending danger to both the pokemon and the kingdom of Cameron. Celebi was helping me try to figure out who or what even was causing the pokemon to rile up and declare war on the humans but we weren't having much luck. I couldn't leave the tree for any long period of time because it had become too weak. Celebi suggested that we ask Lady Rin and her court if they could help us and I agreed._

_From there, we met Aaron and Lucario and they helped us as much as they could, even travelling far distances to search for sources of the problem outside the kingdom. By this time, you two were only just a year old, talking and walking even. Everyone was surprised and impressed with your quick progression. Only when one of the affected pokemon had crossed Aaron and his Lucario did they realise what was wrong._

_The pokemon had been affected by dark aura magic._

_Aaron and Lucario ventured far from the kingdom to train their auras in hopes of healing the affected pokemon and making everything right again in the kingdom._

_Aaron returned to Cameron and for a while, everything was okay. The tree's decline had halted and the impending danger had been halted as well. Aaron spent most of his time with Alyce and the two of you. Although Aaron wasn't supposed to even have a wife, let alone a family, the Guardian Council saw that Aaron could do everything in his power to protect the pokemon, nature and humans while still having Alyce to come home to at night, so they wed and the following winter, Alyce gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl._

_I remember that day so well. Amy was born only a few minutes before Ash and Alyce couldn't keep the smile off her face throughout the entire birth, even through the pain. Aaron stood there, holding Amy, looking like the most proud father I'd ever seen. Aaron made sure to spend as much time as he could with the both of you, every important step, even the little ones, he never missed._

_Alyce joked about you both having Aaron's determination and he always thought you both had her heart. I have to say both of them are right._

_Lucario even had a family of his own. A mate and three Riolu triplets that kept him very busy when he was home._

_But just before you were to turn two years old, the war between humans and pokemon flared again and the tree began to grow increasingly weaker, beginning to drain my own life energy to help it survive. Celebi flashed back in and she was shocked to see her new information had come at a most distressing time._

_There was rumours of a dark clan that practised dark aura magic and Celebi had gone to investigate. Turns out she did find a clan that practised dark magic but they were led by the ex-aura guardian, Crixus. Crixus and Aaron had been very close, as close as brothers could be, before Crixus was banished by the Council after failing to prevent harm from falling upon an innocent village that was under attack from a rogue string of fire type pokemon because he was exploring and practising the forbidden art of dark aura magic._

_Aaron was extremely disappointed and hurt when he'd heard of the horrible things that Crixus had done._

_Crixus wanted to train in the ways of dark aura magic rather then rely on the pure aura that was created by every living thing, though some have incredibly strong aura like all those that were chosen to be aura guardians and that included Aaron, Amy and Ash. Crixus managed to find a group of people that held intense distrust and hatred towards the aura guardians and so they began to learn from Crixus and his evil ways. The dark aura magic tainted their hearts and their minds._

_Crixus had devised a plan to get revenge on the aura guardians and Aaron. He was going to use the pokemon and people the aura guardians loved so much to create an unstoppable war that would require the attention of even the strongest guardians so he could use his strong dark aura magic to destroy them._

_But what he didn't count on was the tree's life failing. I'd grown too weak by the time Celebi had come to me to help any in the fight against Crixus. She then gather Aaron and Lucario to help._

_Aaron tearfully said good bye to his wife and children, gathering them all in a warm embrace that he wished could last a life time. Alyce hugged back as much as she could with two tiny children in her arms as the tears fell from her eyes. Lucario faced a similar good bye with his mate and his own children._

_Half way back to the tree, Aaron suddenly turned, apologized and used his staff to capture Lucario, the latter screaming in pain. Celebi told me that Aaron had tears in his eyes when he did but Lucario's safety mattered more to him than his own._

_All too soon, the battle was approaching, barely minutes away when Aaron made it to the Tree of Beginning. I was too weak to give the tree anymore energy as I had begun dying as well. Aaron saw this and immediately jumped into action, giving me and the tree his aura. The tree recognised Aaron's aura as pure and innocent and that gave it the strength to extend it's arms and heal all the affected pokemon and humans but by using Aaron's aura, the tree had to encase him in crystallised energy to prevent him from dying._

_The pokemon and humans returned to normal, the war averted._

_But Crixus was never found or captured._

_Two years or so later, Crixus and his followers attacked the royal palace, searching for any and all aura guardians staying there. He managed to kill some of the guardian trainees, some experienced guardians and most of the Council members, though a few escaped, and he then came after Aaron's children. I was hanging around the palace because I'd been feeling like something was going to happen and I was so glad that I was there._

_By the time I realised what was going on, Crixus had made it to the corridor where the children's room was. Amy and Ash couldn't protect themselves against dark aura magic. Crixus didn't realise that I was behind him but immediately did when I sent an attack at him. He stumbled forward and then turned around to face me, snarling. "Little Mew. What a bratty pokemon. You can't stop me, not now, not ever," He said wickedly before glowing black and then he screamed before disappearing. I knew then that he'd gone into the future to rule there. Celebi had once told me that the future didn't have many aura guardians._

_After Crixus had disappeared, I went into the children's room to check on them. But I only found Celebi floating over their beds. She looked poised and ready to attack but relaxed once she felt my presence._

_"Where are the children?" I asked._

_Celebi looked up at me with tearful eyes. "They're gone, Mew. I sent them into the future to protect them against this madness, Alyce as well. I couldn't fail them again," She said brokenly, collapsing on Ash's bed. I floated over to her and tried to sooth her with my psychic energy._

_"Celebi, you did what was best for them but I fear that Crixus followed them and they may need our help someday. Go to the future, watch over them and protect them. I will join you there in time," I said._

_Celebi gave me one last look before vanishing. I sighed but went back down stairs. The fight between the dark aura magic users and the aura guardians was over. All of Crixus' followers were dead, thanks to their master abandoning them._

_I swore that day that I would find you in the future and protect you, no matter the cost._

**-End Story (End Mew's POV)-**

Ash just looked at Mew in shock. So they were brought to the future to protect them from suffering a terrible fate at such a young age? Now Ash understood why they weren't told sooner. He wasn't sure he could have handled everything when he was younger but after everything he'd been through, he knew he'd be able to handle this, survive it.

Amy stared at Mew in shock as well. She's heard most of the story as well but she didn't know that her's and Ash's mother had been flung into the future as well. Where was she? Could Celebi find her?

"Where is my mother?" Amy asked, desperate for an answer.

Mew looked over to Celebi but the other pokemon just shrugged in response. "I tried looking for her when I came here but I couldn't find her. She doesn't have a relatively different aura than a normal human so I couldn't locate her. I know that she is not far from your home town, Ash. So maybe she is somewhere around there," Celebi said, floating up and down slightly.

As she felt tears gathering in her eyes, Amy felt the arms of her brother come around her. She snuggled closer before finally letting loose her pain and despair, her tears slowly wetting Ash's shirt as he let his own tears fall.

Not far away, May came into view around the side of a white rose bush, sighing. It was obvious just how much Ash cared for her and that broke May's heart. With tears in her own eyes, May rushed back to the room, not knowing that a certain time pokemon was watching her retreat not only into the palace but also into the safety of her heart.

* * *

**Well, that's it for this chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it. It came out pretty long didn't it? Nearly 5000 words in all. I'm very proud of myself. When I started this today, I'd only written maybe 400 words and it's nearly multiplied by more than ten. I'm so happy I could get this chapter out and the length of it, I hope you all enjoy the new chapter.**

**ALSO! I did edit this chapter slightly to compensate for the name change of Ash and Amy's mother. I also fixed a few typos that I spotted as well.**

**REVIEW PLEASE! Reviewing makes for a happy authors which makes for more chapters which makes for more happy readers!**


	9. Chapter 9

_Here you go guys! A brand new update!_

_I hope you all enjoy this new chapter of Aura Guardian's in Time. Sorry it's a couple of days later than I said, I was having some issues with really stressing friends, but I'm not going to let that stand in the way of you guys getting a new update._

_Also, the new OC for my story has been chosen and I will announce it right now. It is ..._

_*drum roll*_

_**ASTREA AOI AMAYA** by **Crystalstorm**! _

_Congratulations! Thank you to everyone who sent in their OCs and I'm really sorry but there could only be one winner as I didn't get as many OCs as I would have liked so I only had one space available for the character._

_To **Crystalstorm**: I haven't really mentioned your character by name in this chapter but she will be heavily mentioned in the next chapter. I hope you like what's been done with your character (I also changed her age by one year) and thank you again for submitting her to my contest._

_I also changed the name of Ash and Amy's mother. Her name is now Alyce (pronnounced Alice)._

_And one more thing. As I said in the last chapter, it's really stressing to have to type a pokemon's name over and over again to have it talk so I'm going to put all talking from pokemon in ITALICS and telepathy (and twin linkage) in **ITALICS BOLD**. Okay? Okay! Also, some nice fluff near the end. It's also the next afternoon, after Ash woke up and knew Amy was his sister._

_Now on to the update!_

_P.S. I also deleted the chapter about the OC contest so you guys just have this new bad boy to read. Enjoy!_

_P.S.S. This chapter has been edited as of 17th of Feb 2013. A piece of this chapter originally now clashes with what I had outlined for the next chapter. So I have now removed it and I am really sorry to all my readers for the mistake._

**X-X**

The twins were still reeling from the fact that their mother was alive and in the same time as them. It was more than Amy ever thought possible and Ash never thought he'd ever get to meet his parents but Celebi had just confirmed that Ash still at least had a chance.

If only Alyce could be found.

"_**I just want my mom**_," Amy cried softly inside her head, unknowingly sending the message across to Ash, who's eyes widened.

"_**Amy, I can hear you inside my head**_," Ash sent back. This had Amy's eyes widening as well.

Meanwhile, Celebi watched May go with interest. She'd seen the tears in the human's eyes but was unsure of the reason for them. Celebi turned back to the twins and was suddenly hit with the answer. May was heartbroken! She mistakenly thought that Ash and Amy were together! Celebi tried hurriedly to gather Ash's attention but he'd pressed his face into his sister's hair, blocking out all the noise around him.

Celebi glanced at Mew with panic in her eyes.

"_Celebi? What is wrong_?" Mew asked, floating to hover beside her long time friend. '_Maybe Celebi is sensing the same danger I feel coming_,' She thought.

"_Ash's friend, May, was over behind the white rose bush and saw their embrace as brother and sister but mistakenly thought of it as a lover's embrace! She's running away, from both the twins and her own heart. Something must be done quickly. I sense evil around this place, gathering closer and closer to the palace every day. If May is to be left unattended, then she may fall into the hands of the new enemy gathering over the horizon!_" Celebi cried, continually jumping around Ash and Amy to try and gain their attention.

Finally, the twins turned their heads simultaniously, eyes tearful. "What's up, Celebi?" They asked in unison.

Celebi blinked at the way the twins acted as though they'd never been separated before shaking her head, getting back to the matter at hand. "_May was over behind the white rose bush and she saw the two of you hugging. I could sense that she felt heartbroken and upset. She ran off. I think one of you should go after her. I can sense evil approaching and I don't want her to be harmed. Then you need to stay in the castle until Mew or I come to get you. It's not safe out here without one of us with you. Go, go now!_" Celebi cried, shooing the twins off.

Ash and Amy gave each other a confused look when Celebi said she sensed approaching evil but ran off back the way they came, hoping to catch up with May before anything happened to her.

When Celebi and Mew were alone, Mew turned to Celebi and said, "_You sense the same energy as I do_."

Celebi nodded, "_He's back again. I just hope it doesn't turn into a massacre this time_."

"_We must stop history from repeating itself, Mew. Ash and Amy are too old to be relocated in time and Alyce is missing_," Celebi ranted fifteen minutes, trying to calm herself down as she worried about Ash's and Amy's safety now that she sensed his power.

Mew nodded and then sighed. "_But his power is not all that I sense, Celebi. I sense the Star of Blue Night Rain's power. She's not far from here but her power is also mixed with his_."

Celebi gasped, a hand coming up to her mouth. "_B-But how? Everyone thought she was dead years ago. How can it be that she survived? And where has she been all these years?_"

Mew placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "_Celebi, the only one who knows the answers to all of those questions is somewhere within his castle. We need to find her but the only way to do that is to gather Ash, Amy and Lucario and ask them to harness their aura abilities to locate and track the Star of Blue Night Rain's power. This must be done quickly, before I lose my sense of her. Go Celebi. Gather Lucario first and then find Ash and Amy. All three will need to be here for this to work as the Star of Blue Night Rain's aura is clouded by sadness and pain_."

Celebi nodded to her old friend, took one last look in the direction of the mountains and flew off to locate Lucario first, knowing that Ash and Amy needed time to explain things to May.

* * *

"May!" Ash called out, running down one of the many hallways in Lady Irene's castle. He'd gone straight to May's room with Amy but she hadn't been there so he and Amy decided to split up to search for her. When Ash hadn't found May in her room, he had a bad feeling that if they didn't find May soon, something evil would.

"May, please. Where are you?" Ash called again, letting a little desperation slip into his voice. The sound echoed around the hallway.

Ash opened a door on the left. "May?" No answer.

A door on the right. "May?" No answer.

He called down another hallway to the left. "May?" No answer.

Up the hallway to the right. "MAY?" No answer.

Now Ash was starting to get desperate.

"**_Have you found her, Amy?_**" Ash asked, via his newly discovered twin link with Amy. He felt rather than heard Amy's disappointed 'no' and that made his heart sink further into his stomach. May was lost somewhere in the castle and with the danger lurking so close that Ash and Amy could feel it with their awakening aura and mildly experience aura, respectively, the need to find May was beginning to overwhelm Ash's mind to the point that he was almost insane with worry. Part of him knew the worry was because his friend was in danger and the other part, he wasn't willing to admit to just yet.

But that didn't stop Amy from teasing him lightly through their link to keep his mind off the face that May had been missing for more than an hour.

A sudden sobbing had Ash running forward and around the corner, almost tripping over May who had curled in upon herself right at the edge of the corner. Ash cried out in relief and quickly gathered May into his arms, sending a relieved message to Amy, who send comfort and support back to Ash, knowing he had to calm himself down now that May had been found.

May, although enjoying the feeling of Ash's arms wrapped around her, couldn't help but feel confused as to why he was holding her and why he wasn't with his girlfriend since he obviously had deep feelings for her, no matter that they had only known each other a few days.

"Ash, why are you holding me?" May asked quietly, trying to keep the tremor out of her voice. She felt even more confused when Ash stood, shifting her in his arms so she was now held bridal style. He then began to walk back to May's room.

"I'm holding you May because your my friend and you're upset and I don't like seeing you upset," Ash admitted, a slight blush coming up on his cheeks, growling inwardly when he heard Amy's quiet laughter in the back of his mind.

May blinked. "But, but what about your girlfriend?" She didn't get why he cared about her, even if she was upset. May thought he'd be with his girlfriend.

Ash looked at May confused. "I don't have a girlfriend, May."

"But I saw you with her. In the garden. You were holding her and she was leaning into you."

Ash blinked but then suddenly began to laugh, startling May. This cause Ash to almost drop her but he held onto her, lowering them both to the ground only a couple of hallways from May's room to avoid a second incident. "May," Ash said, cupping her face in both of his hands, "Amy isn't my girlfriend. Amy is my _sister_."

May's eyes widened at that last word. _Sister_? Ash didn't have a sister, did he? Although it wouldn't make sense for Ash to lie about something like this, May was still a little skeptical. "You don't have a sister, Ash. I would have noticed if you mentioned her."

"That's because before last night, I didn't even know Amy existed. It's a very complicated story, one which I wouldn't like to repeat so I'll wait until I can get Brock, Max and Misty together with you, Amy and myself and I'll explain it all then. But Amy is my sister, not my girlfriend. She's definately not the one I'm in love with," Ash muttered the last part, hoping that by some miracle May wouldn't pick up on it.

But, of course, she did.

"What do you mean 'she's definately not the one you're in love with'?" May questioned. Normally she wouldn't be so curious but after mistaking Ash's sister - that would have to take some getting used to - for his girlfriend, May's curiousity was spiked.

Ash cursed his luck. He really hadn't wanted to spill his guts to May, especially when he was still in shock from the discovery of his long lost sister late last night. He sighed and took a deep breath that he also let out slowly, trying to figure out the best way to explain it to May. But he couldn't come up with anything.

Mentally saying screw it, Ash leaned forward and softly brushed his lips against May's, ignoring the way warmth flooded his entire body. He pulled back after a few seconds and nervously looked into her deep blue eyes eyes.

May saw that Ash was internally battling with himself and just as she thought about moving from his grasp, she felt his soft lips against her own and gasped as a wave of warmth flooded her. After a few seconds it was gone and she was left looking at a nervous Ash in front of her, his coal coloured eyes boring into hers.

Ash was glad that Amy, who he knew had been listening to his internal debate, didn't comment on the action he chose to take, opting to send Ash love and support while he waited nervously for May to say something, anything!

May blinked again and suddenly realised that Ash was waiting for her to say something. But instead, a devillish smile ghosted across her lips, startling Ash.

Ash started when a devillish smile ghosted May's lips and wondered silently what had he just done? But that thought flew out the window as he felt May launch herself at him, knocking him flat on his back and sealing her lips back over his with passion. Ash gasped as warmth flooded him again, feeling the tip of May's tongue slip into his mouth before it retreated. This happened a few times and Ash slowly began to realise that May wanted his tongue to follow hers back into her mouth. Wrapping his arms around May's waist, Ash slipped his tongue quickly passed May's ajar lips, loving the gasp he extracted from her when his tongue wrapped around hers.

After another moment, the pair broke apart, fighting to drag much needed air back into their lungs. May laid her head down on Ash's chest, loving the sound of his heart beat and the way his arms tightened around her. Ash adored the feeling of May in his arms but he knew they had to get back to the rooms before Brock and Max send out a region wide search for them.

He sat back up slowly, feeling May begin to shift from her place on his chest. Instead of helping her do so, Ash slipped an arm under her legs and another around her back, hoisting her up so she leaned against his chest at a different angle. May smiled, unaware that Ash was doing the same. Ash placed a small kiss on top of May's head and whispered, "It's you, May. You're the one I love." He knew she would hear it.

And she did, a blush spreading across her face rapidly.

"So, what are we now?" May asked.

Ash looked at her like she was crazy. "Well, I thought that part would be obvious. It is, even to me. I'm now your boyfriend and your now my girlfriend. Is that okay with you?" He asked teasingly, laughing with he got a light warning slap on his arm.

"**_Ash, sorry to disturb your cuddly session with May but Celebi just told me that Mew wants us down in the gardens. They need us to look for someone called the Star of Blue Night Rain with our auras. Lucario is already down there so just bring down May with you_**," Amy called out to him. Ash sensed her aura at the front doors of the castle and nodded to himself, sending a reply to Amy telling her he'd be down as soon as possible with May.

"We need to go back to the gardens before I take you back to your room. Amy, Celebi, Mew and Lucario need me down there and I don't want to let you go just yet," Ash admitted the last bit with a bright blush on his face. May blushed as well but nodded, settling herself more comfortably in Ash's arms, making him smile along with her. Ash leaned down and kissed her lips gently before pulling back and taking off at a run to the entrance to the castle.

May bounced in Ash's arms as he ran but she could see under his shirt where his muscles worked to hold her up. She was surprised at how much Ash had filled out since she'd joined his team two years previously. It was really beautiful to watch.

Ash wasn't sure if Amy sensed it but the title 'Star of Blue Night Rain' sparked something inside Ash and he remembered his old friend, Astrea Aoi Amaya, who used to translate her name so she could call herself the Star of Blue Night Rain. It was, after all, her name. She'd disappeared around two weeks before Ash set off on his journey. Although she was two years older than Ash was at the time - which would make her 17 now since Ash was 15 - she still spent most of her time playing with Ash and Gary Oak, chasing them around the town when they were children.

If Celebi and Mew meant what he thought they did, Ash dared to hope that he might just get to see his old friend once again.

* * *

"So we just stand in a circle, the three of us, and concentrate on using out aura to seek out any other powers in the area but we have to know the difference between the evil power and the good power?" Amy asked, her arms crossed over her chest as she saw Ash explain to May that he was just going to help and then he was all hers again. She watched, even as Celebi began to confirm what Amy had already said, as Ash swooped in, placing a lingering kiss on May who giggled happily. It was a pleasant sight.

"_- And so that's how this is going to work_," Celebi finished, looking at the twins. From one look, she knew they hadn't heard a word she said. She sighed, handing them off to Mew.

"_All you need to do is channel your aura into the centre of the circle and Lucario will use it to search for the Star of Night Rain. It won't take too long but we need to know where she is_," Mew explained, happy with the twins nodded in understanding and formed a circle with Lucario. They closed their eyes and channelled their aura into the centre of the circle. But as Lucario used the aura to search for the Star of Night Rain, Amy and Ash kind of 'piggy-backed' on the aura, being able to see the places that the aura overlooked before finally coming upon a very old looking castle, clearly smaller than Lady Irene's.

A few dozen Zubat flew in circles around all points of the castle, obviously as look outs. There were guards as well on the ground, each guard holding a riot rod, a flashlight, a gun and a row of three pokeballs, indicating each had three pokemon. With the amount of guards there were, Amy and Ash concluded that all of the Zubat belonged to them.

The image then zoomed in, going through the stone walls to show the interior of the castle. Many more guards walked around the hallways, some chatting about various, unrelated topics while some mentioned their master and how they were glad that they weren't his best warriors so that meant that he barely noticed them.

The image then zoomed again, this time showing the basement of the castle, the dungeon. Amy and Ash felt unnerved at the amount of people that were there and the state of the cells. A prisoner coughed near the end and though they couldn't actually go and see who the person coughing was, they felt sympathy for the sick person.

Cell number one was empty.

Cell number two was also empty.

Cell number three had an old man inside who looked to be very much in pain with the amount of bruises that littered his body and the shallow cuts that ran up and down his arms, legs, back and abdomen. It was truly a horrific sight.

Cell number four was empty.

Cell number five was definately the one they were looking for as even Ash, who had never used aura before, saw the way her aura flared and licked up the walls like invisible fire. The prisoner kept her head on her knees, her dark, silvery blue hair falling in waves over her shoulders until it reached her waist. Her black pants were torn at the knees and her boots were worn with continued use. The girl's arms were covered in goosebumps, most likely due to the fact that she only wore a thin, dark grey sleeveless shirt and a silver belt. Her eyes matched the colour of her hair and she was looking directly at the wall opposite her cell.

Ash began to shake, so much that his shaking brought the circle crumbling and the three aura users fell to their knees, May flying over to Ash's side. She frantically checked for any wounds or signs of overexertion from Ash and was pleased to fine none of either one.

Ash opened his eyes and looked over at his other aura users. Their eyes had changed colour and he was sure his own had by the sharp intake of breath he heard from May. Amy's eyes were bright rose pink, the same colour as her aura. Lucario's were more of a deep sky blue.

Amy looked over to Ash and Lucario and saw their eyes had changed colour. Instead of Ash's normal coal colour, they were a bright, deep ocean blue, just like his aura and just like their father's aura.

Ash smiled at his fellow aura users, even as the colour faded from their eyes. The left over aura in the centre of the circle had found it's way back into each individual user. Mew and Celebi held their breath as Ash laughed breathlessly.

"We found her. We found Astrea."

* * *

Well, that's all for this chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. It really fought me tooth and nail to get this one down on paper and then onto my computer but it was well worth it for you guys.

I'd just like to let you guys know the ages of the characters (and **Crystalstorm**'s OC):

Ash & Amy: 15

May: 15

Brock: 18

Max: 9

Astrea: 17

That is all.

**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE**

**Remember to review guys. REVIEWS EVERYONE!**


	10. Chapter 10

_My dear readers, at last, I have returned! It had been well over a year since this story, or any of my writing projects for that matter, have been updated. I am incredibly sorry for the long wait and I am working to make it up to you guys. I already have the next chapter started and almost finished, with both this one and the next aimed to be over 3,000 words a piece. _

_The reason for my absence has many sides. I had some personal issues in the middle of last year which I struggled to overcome. I'm happy to say that I have, with the help of my family and close friends :) I have also had family issues, school, Christmas and New year, returning to school again this year and trying to move house. With all of this on my mind, I haven't had the inspiration or the will to write in a long time. _

_But I'm back now and my writing skills have improved, I do have to say. So everyone, please enjoy the new chapter of Aura Guardians in Time! This is a slight filler chapter which focuses mainly on Astrea and her captor. I thought it would be the best time to properly introduce her, after the previous chapter's cliffhanger. Enjoy!_

_Warning! This chapter contains hints of violence and descriptive language. This is definitely a 13+ chapter._

**X-X**

Upon her arrival, the guard had taken everything from her that could be used to send a message out of the compound and anything she could have used as a weapon. Then they gifted her with a tight, silver collar that burned her as it made contact. She felt her energy fizzle down to a soft simmer instead of the fiery blaze that had seared under her skin. It felt like losing a part of herself; her passion, her heart.

Stuck in this same cell, day after day, it didn't take her long to become familiar with her surroundings. A line of cells ran either side of hers, each held their own captive. Sometimes, she heard screams calling from either side as her fellow prisoners were dragged from their cells, struggling passionately with the men who held them tightly, despite the struggling. She'd seen what was happening to the others. The cuts and bruises that were visible on their skin were tell-tail signs to what their captors were doing.

At times, she wondered what they had done to deserve such treatment but answers were not something to be found in this hell hole.

Her cell stunk of dried blood and fresh sweat. Not exactly the most pleasant combination, she thought, but much better than the stench of vomit coming from the cell three down from hers on her left. When the guards opened the doors, the resulting wind sent the smell wafting down the hallway, drawing coughs from the other prisoners.

For hours at a time, she sat in her cell, leaning against one of the walls as faint screams echoed through the roof. Each day, her captors dragged her from her cell. With ropes tied around her wrist and ankles each time, it made it harder for her to struggle but that didn't mean she didn't try.

Unlike her fellow captives, she managed to land a few blows on the guards each time, and those blows were returned in kind. The majority of her injuries came from her journeys upstairs.

The walls of her cell were decorated with tally marks that were scratched into the wood. She figured they were made with the finger nails of her cell's previous occupant. Facing the hallway was a set of bars across the front of the cell, placed there to ensure that her captor didn't have the unexpected surprise of her escape.

There was a small hole, just big enough to send a rolled up piece of paper through, in the upper right hand corner of the left wall. The prisoner next door used to send through letters, written in blood on pieces of cloth, torn from their clothing. Each letter was a message of strength from the other captive, with the hope that one day, they would both return to their lives.

Three days after the messages began, they stopped.

The very next day, a new captive came, kicking and screaming at the guards to let them go. Her 'friend' was never heard from again.

She sighed, pulling her legs up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. Her thin clothing did little to protect her from the chill she felt biting at her skin. Dressed in a dark gray, sleeveless shirt, black pants torn at the knees with a silver belt wrapped around her waist and worn, black ankle boots, she tried to count back the days since she's arrived here. As hard as she tried, she could only go back three weeks. Then, she couldn't remember how many days before that she was out while they brought her to this place.

She thought of her faithful companions. She'd managed to release them from their Pokéballs before her captors arrived. Now they were on the run. She hoped that they had found somewhere safe to go.

It pained her to even think that they may have been caught as well.

But she knew none of them had been captured because if one of them had, her captors would have shoved it in her face by now and used that advantage to convince her to give in and reveal to their master the information he desired so greatly.

And she would have had to put her duty ahead of her Pokemon.

Her Growlithe, who always cuddled up against her in her sleeping bag when it was cool so she would be warm. Her Kirlia, who loved to help her prepare the food for her and her other Pokemon. Her Pichu, who brought their adventures to life with her bubbly attitude. Her Swellow, who liked to scout ahead so he was prepared for anything that would descend upon them.

And Mudkip, her starter Pokemon, her best friend. Tears welled up in her eyes as she thought about him. She wondered where he was now and if he was okay.

She hoped more than anything that her Pokemon were okay.

* * *

He couldn't believe she was so resistant. Ever since she'd come to be in his captivity a month ago, she refused to speak a word to him or anyone else in his compound. Despite what his guard had done to her and how he'd restricted the use of her aura via the silver collar he'd gifted her with, she still refused to give him what he wanted.

And he wanted _them_.

He wasn't asking for much. She knew where they were, just as he was sure they would soon find her. After this much time away, it was bound to catch the attention of the Pokemon she was reporting too. In turn, they would seek out their charges and bring them together in an effort to find his captive.

He couldn't let that happen. Not while he still needed her.

"Master Crixus," he heard from his left. Turning his head slowly to his head guard, he let his gaze rest on him, a little longer than necessary. Oh, how he enjoyed doing that. It gave him the opportunity to watch his subjects squirm.

"Yes?" he drawled.

His head guard squirmed slightly under the heavy gaze of his master. "My lord, we have brought the prisoner to you, as you requested." The head guard clicked his fingers and two guards brought his prized prisoner into the room. The guards brought the girl to the centre of the room and forced her to her knees, head bowed towards their master.

Crixus smirked evilly. "Leave us," he commanded. The guards bowed respectfully before retreating from the room.

Rising from his throne, he stalked towards the girl. It was obvious to him that she was resisting looking up at him as she had done all the times before. It amused him.

When he was close to her, he reached out and wrapped his gloved fingers around her chin, forcibly tilting her head so he could look into her eyes. They glared back at him, flashing brightly with the emotions that swirled inside of her. He could tell she was uncomfortable in her current position but it wasn't like he cared.

"Where are they, my dear?" He asked. Her only response was to intensify her glare. "Oh, come now. All of this could end, right here and now. If you just give me what I ask for."

Her hard silvery blue eyes stared at his, unwaveringly. "Nothing you do or say to me will convince me to give you what you want."

He laughed. "Oh, dear Astrea. Soon enough, you _will_ give me what I want. And you will do it, willingly."

Astrea glared at Crixus, and then spit in his face. She smirked internally as she watched his expression fall from his face, twisting instead into one of disgust. He retaliated by raising a hand and slapping her across the face. Her head jerked to the side painfully and despite her best efforts, a small moan escaped her mouth.

Crixus waited patiently for her to swing her head back so he could reconnect their gazes with a hard stare of his own. "That was highly uncalled for, my dear. And certainly _not_ what I asked for. Why won't you give me what I want? This could all be stopped, if only you would just stop resisting."

Her glare remained unwavering. "Because I would rather suffer, for the rest of my life, to protect the people who mean something to me than hoist them up like pigs for the slaughter. Unlike _you_, Crixus. You, who would sell out even the people closest to you for your own personal gain. You have no heart, and no real emotion. Just a thirst for power. Their powers are safe from you. You may have suppressed mine but I won't allow you to get theirs because you won't just suppress them. You'll take them completely, knowing the consequences. If you took their powers, they would die and you know that. But you don't really care about that little detail, do you?"

Crixus only smiled. "Rathborne!" he called.

Crixus' head guard entered through the side door to the throne room. He bowed to his master, knowing he wasn't to speak unless given permission.

"Take Miss Amaya back to her cell," Crixus commanded.

Rathborne nodded, snapping his fingers together. A moment later, the two previous guards entered the room. With a nod from their commander, the two walked over and took a hold of each of Astrea's arms. They pulled her roughly to her feet and dragged her from the room. She didn't struggle. There was no point in doing so. Rathborne made to follow them when his master called out to him.

"Oh, and Rathborne, if she struggles, subdue her by _any_ means necessary."

Rathborne smirked before following his men out of the room.

Crixus returned to his position upon his throne and called for a servant, who entered from the other side of the room, to bring him a glass of his favourite wine. The servant scurried off to get just that.

When the servant returned with his wine, Crixus waved the boy away, wishing to be left alone with his thoughts. As he swirled the wine in its glass, he thought about how he would find his prey. Astrea wasn't going to give him what he wanted, he knew that. Well, at least she wouldn't _willingly_.

Leverage!

That was what he needed.

"Farfetch'd!"

His most loyal Pokemon, Farfetch'd, soared in through the open window, right above his throne. He flew down to his master, landing on one of the arm rests. He trilled when his master began to stroke his feathers. "Farfetch'd, I need you to see if you can find that poor little Mudkip our dear Astrea carelessly lost. And when you go, I want you to bring it back here. Maybe Astrea will be more forthcoming with the information I need if she knows her precious Mudkip is with me," Crixus laughed, "Farfetch'd, go and search around the city. Do not let anyone or anything stand in your way."

Farfetch'd called its name in understanding.

"Absol!"

A four legged white creature came bundling through the open door to the left a moment later. The creature called its own name, Absol, as a greeting to his master. Farfetch'd flew over and landed on Absol's shoulder. Absol had dark blue claws as well as a dark blue tail. A horn jutted out from the side of Absol's face and grew up around in a large curve around his head. There was an oval shaped dark sapphire stone in the middle of his forehead. His dark red eyes, unnaturally bright for his kind, glittered with anticipation at the new mission his master was undoubtedly about to bestow upon him.

"Absol, you and Farfetch'd are to find the pathetic little Mudkip that escaped when we captured that blasted girl and bring it back here. It would definitely be scared and possibly hurt so it would want to find somewhere it could go to be safe. With how long we've had Astrea here as our esteemed guest, that 'safe place' has got to be the city, Cameron. The Pokemon Centre should be near the outskirts of the city. Mudkip will be somewhere near there. Find it," Crixus commanded his faithful Pokemon.

Absol crouched with his front legs, almost in a bow to Crixus, and bounded out of the room. Farfetch'd had its claws sunk into Absol's fur, gripping his shoulder tightly to avoid being thrown off as Absol ran out of the castle and into the neighbouring forest, intent on reaching their destination before the sun fell behind the horizon.

* * *

"_Growlithe, we must hurry! They will have sent out a search party for us by now and we must not let them find us!_" a Pokemon named Swellow yelled at one of the other Pokemon he was travelling with.

Growlithe groaned but sped up her pace. Despite the aching in her limbs, she pushed herself to go faster because she knew that there was truth in Swellow's words. Their trainer's captors were after them. Growlithe wasn't sure what they were doing to their trainer but she knew that Astrea wouldn't want them to be captured as well. That was why she had released them and told them to run.

For days now, they had been running. They'd been feasting on whatever berries and edible plants they could find, taking shelter in partially hidden caves along the wall of the rock formation in the middle of the forest and under the thick canopy of tall trees when it was too late to find another cave.

Mudkip and Pichu gathered wood for when the nights were cold and Growlithe used her moves to start the fire.

Swellow kept Mudkip and Pichu under his wings, watching over them as they used her wings like a safety blanket.

Kirlia meditated late into the nights and was the first to awaken while Growlithe stuck close to the fire, desperately needing the warmth of the fire. It reminded her of Astrea's warmth when they were cuddled together on a cold night out in the wood while they were travelling.

Each morning they awoke, waiting until the last of them was fully awake before beginning the day's journey. They hadn't been able to travel the distance they wanted to in the last few days because a few days ago, both Pichu and Growlithe had fallen over the edge of one of the large hills they'd had to travel over that day and tumbled to the bottom.

The accident had injured Pichu's tail to the point where she couldn't move it, which now made it impossible for her to walk straight due to her balance being thrown off, and Growlithe's right hind paw. Growlithe had to hop for the rest of the day and the next.

Swellow took it upon himself to care for the group, which lead to his current position as a carrier of Pichu who rested comfortably against his feathers. While Growlithe's paw was able to begin to heal in the last few days, Pichu's tail had to be taken care of at a Pokemon centre, which was their next destination.

Kirlia could only hope that they would make it to the centre in time.

In the back of her mind, Kirlia wondered whether or not they would make it before they were found by the search party of brainwashed and/or evil Pokemon that had followed them all this time. Her instinct was telling her that there was no way to know if they would make it in time but also, not to panic if they were found. It would do them no good with two injured comrades who had no hope of defending themselves properly.

The group had been aiming to reach the Pokemon centre of this city before dusk the day before. They were aiming for the same time frame today. When they got there, they would worry about whether or not the humans understood what they had to tell them but they had to reach the Pokemon centre safely first.

The feeling of soft fur brushing up against the side of her leg brought her from her thoughts and she looked down to see that Mudkip had pressed himself closer to her, whimpering in fear and exhaustion as he pushed to keep up with his fellow travellers.

As the youngest in the group, Mudkip didn't have the stamina that Swellow and Kirlia seemed to have. Even Growlithe and Pichu had a slightly higher stamina than him. But Mudkip strived to keep the same pace as them, determined to prove his worth. Kirlia smiled slightly, proud to have Mudkip on her team. He was fiercely loyal to not only their trainer, Astrea, but to all of them as well.

Kirlia let her arm dangle down and rested her hand on Mudkip's head, rubbing the fur there in soft circles. It didn't do much to get rid of Mudkip's fear but it did help Mudkip to stop whimpering.

As they burrowed deeper into the forest, the sun disappeared from sight while layers of green and golden brown leaves washed over them. It was just at the beginning of Autumn, which meant warm days and cold nights.

Wild Pokemon poked their heads out from behind trees and through bushes to watch them run through the forest but then they returned to minding their own business, gathering food for their families and preparing to survive another cold night.

Swellow looked back at his 'family', as he thought of them. His younger 'sisters', Pichu, Kirlia and Growlithe, were beginning to pant hard. Swellow saw signs of exhaustion in their eyes and movements. Mudkip was beginning to sway on his feet but refused to slow down the pace even a little. Swellow's heart grew swollen with pride for his younger 'brother'.

Despite his body screaming at him to stop, he pushed through it and kept going, not wanting to let down his family. Swellow knew that Mudkip would grow to be much stronger than any of them.

His resilience proved that much.

Slowing down, and knowing his family was doing the same, Swellow stopped in a small clearing, big enough for them to rest for a few moments and be secluded enough that those following them wouldn't see them.

"_Alright, we can stop for a few moments to catch our breath_," he said. Before he even finished his sentence, Growlithe, Kirlia, and Mudkip collapsed on the ground, panting harshly. They'd all pushed their bodies past their limits but Mudkip had pushed far more. When he collapsed, he passed out from the exhaustion of keeping his body going for much longer than it could handle.

His last thought before losing consciousness was that he hoped he'd lasted long enough.

* * *

**I'm hoping to have the new chapter out within the next week or two, due to the fact that I may be moving this weekend or next. I hope that this chapter will hold everyone over until the next installment :) Review, my lovelies. I look forward to hearing from everyone, even those who review anonymously.**


	11. Chapter 11

_I'm baaaack! _

_My dear readers, here is a brand new chapter of Aura Guardians in Time for you all to enjoy :) I started this right before I posted the last one so that's why it's out so quick. And it's definitely longer than the last one, by almost 1,100 words! Wow! I guess my muse is back now. -pets muse-_

_I am moving on the weekend and I don't know when I'll have the internet to use again so I thought I'd better update this now before that. I might not have internet for a few weeks, maybe even a month. It just depends on my internet company. _

_Anyway, here's the next chapter of Aura Guardians in Time!_

_P.S. Thanks to all of the people who have been reviewing, subscribing and putting my on your favourite author's lists. IT means so much to me to see that, thank you :)_

**X-X**

"Ash, how are we going to actually track her down?" Amy asked her brother, looking sideways in his direction.

After the declaration that they had 'found' Astrea, Amy and Ash had promptly fainted. May, along with the help of Max, Brock, Misty, Mew, Lucario and Celebi, brought the twins back to Ash's room and placed them on the bed together. Even in sleep, they could sense each other and as soon as they were placed together, Ash reached out unconsciously for his sister and drew her into his arms. Amy sighed against his chest and snuggled closer to the delicious warmth.

May had stood to the side and watched this unconscious display of sibling affection, her heart no longer filled with jealousy. She could see it now. The touches Ash gave to Amy and that she returned in kind weren't those of romantic love but those of sibling affection. She smiled and giggled as the twins sighed in unison.

Max had watched this as well before turning to his sister, happy to see the smile that lit up her face. He'd known of her love for Ash even before she herself could see it. Even though he was younger in age, Max had known and tried to convince his sister to reveal her feelings to Ash.

And, being the stubborn person she was, May refused.

Up until this day.

Something had changed, Max could see that much. May wasn't clenching her jaw in poorly disguised jealousy but smiling opening, love radiating from her eyes for Ash.

And now, hours later, he knew what had changed.

His sister and Ash had finally confessed to one another!

"I don't know, Amy," Ash replied, sitting calmly with May curled in his lap, "I mean, I can feel that Astrea's aura is somewhere just over the large hill to the south-east of Cameron but I can't pin-point where. It could be just behind it, or further away than I can sense. It's hard to sense because it feels like her aura has been suppressed."

Amy nodded in agreement with her brother.

After she and Ash had woken up, in each other's arms, the whole group had decided to gather in one of Lady Irene's spare rooms. The room was quite large and had a large circular table in the centre of the room. Ash felt like he was King Arthur and he was sitting at his table with his knights and his Queen in his lap.

Brock sat to his right, Amy to his left. Max sat on the other side of Brock and Misty, Lucario and Lady Irene sat directly opposite them so they were all facing one another. Mew and Celebi floated over the table.

"_Ash is right. I sense that Astrea's aura has been suppressed for some time. That is why we could not find her before_," Mew said, floating up and over the table.

"Would it be possible to narrow down where exactly she is?" May asked.

"_It would take time and that is something we do not have. The leader of the Black Aura Soldiers is a dangerous man and he will not wait for us. He could attack Cameron if he sensed Aura Guardians here_," Celebi cut in.

"But there aren't any Aura Guardians alive anymore. They were wiped out over the last few hundred years, right Lady Irene?" Misty said, looking at Lady Irene for confirmation.

Lady Irene only sighed. "There hasn't been a _documented_ aura guardian since Sir Aaron but that doesn't mean they don't exist. Anyone with the ability to use or see aura is a guardian now."

Mew and Celebi nodded in unison.

Both Ash's and Amy's eyes widened. "So, that means... we're Aura Guardians?!" They exclaimed together, pointing at one another.

Again, Mew and Celebi nodded. "_Your father was an Aura Guardian. It's in your blood_," Celebi said.

"Whoa…" To say that the twins were shocked would be an understatement.

May giggled at the look on her boyfriend's face.

Brock raised a hand to his chin and rubbed it thoughtfully. "But doesn't that mean that this leader will come here now that there are Aura Guardians here?" Brock questioned.

Mew nodded. "_Yes. But a friend of ours has set up a protective barrier around Cameron, so powerful that there is only one person who can sense the barrier and break through it; Astrea_."

Ash gasped, knowing the Pokemon they were talking about. "**_Mewtwo_**," Ash thought, not realising that his mental link with his sister was open and she could hear what he was thinking.

Amy looked at her brother in confusion. "Mewtwo? He did put up the barrier?"

Max, Brock, Misty, and May looked at Ash in confusion as well. None of them knew who Mewtwo was. Lady Irene looked at Ash and then Mew in recognition. She knew of Mew's clone, Mewtwo. It had happened years ago, when Mew had been captured by Team Rocket's creator, Giovanni. He'd used Mew's genetic material to create a more advanced cloned copy, naming him Mewtwo. Mewtwo had then escaped and used the same technology that had given him life to clone dozens of various Pokemon back in Johto. The last thing Lady Irene had heard about Mewtwo was that he had flown off to a distant island with his company of cloned Pokemon.

Mew nodded at Ash, confirming his thoughts. "_My old friend, Mewtwo, has been using his powerful psychic abilities to put up and maintain the barrier. It has been up and running since the first moment you stepped through the gates to Cameron, Ash_."

Ash slumped in his seat in shock. After all this time, Mewtwo was still helping the world, trying to make up for his past sins.

Despite Mewtwo's attempt to erase the memories of that horrible time from Ash's mind, the spell began to undo itself within a month after the incident. Ash began to remember, through dreams at first and then flashbacks later, about Mewtwo and the clones, on their island with the cloning machine. He dreamt about Pikachu falling into the machine and her clone emerging. He remembered Mew and Mewtwo sending attacks at each other, barely missing each other before their final attacks were on a collision course with one another. Ash had screamed at them to stop, running forward to place himself between them and their attacks had collided with him instead. Ash didn't remember much after that but he did remember that the Pokemon, originals and clones alike, had all been overjoyed when he awoke and peace settled upon them.

Now, it seems Mewtwo had decided to change his ways and use his abilities to protecting the world.

May looked towards her boyfriend, worriedly. He had paled slightly after Mew confirmed his suspicion about Mewtwo and he had become silent. She waved her hand in front of his face but Ash gave no indication whether or not he saw it. He sat, frozen in the aftermath of this revelation.

Amy watched him for a moment longer then reached out to Ash and was about to try to bring her brother out of the deep well of his thoughts when the gate to their link opened from his side, sending a flood of images her way. She gasped as she realised that these images were Ash's memories.

The first memory that burst into her mind was of seeing Mewtwo stand over Ash and his friends. Amy could almost feel the way they were trembling, especially when Mewtwo roared at them in his anger. As quickly as it came, the image when, leaving Amy to internally sigh a breath of relief.

But soon enough, another memory was upon her.

This one was different, darker. Ash and Pikachu were on an island, trying to find a way to get back all of the Pokemon that Mewtwo stole. After stumbling down a ramp and into a room, they saw all of the stolen Pokemon, still in their Pokéballs, on a conveyer belt. They were headed into a machine which hummed as it scanned each Pokemon through their ball and created a cloned copy, sucking the balls into the machine, depositing them in a room nearby. The cloned Pokemon grew at a rapid rate in clear, jelly like chambers. They were then released and marched in a line out of the other door to the room. Ash stood shocked at the cloned Pokemon but soon snapped out of his shock as Pikachu quietly reminded him why they were there. In the process of trying to get all of the Pokéballs, including his own, Pikachu had dived into the machine to try and catch a ball that rolled down the conveyer belt from Ash's end.

Seconds later, a clone of Pikachu was created and Ash was still screaming for his partner through the inside hull of the machine.

The memory left Amy's mind, the echo of Ash's screams still resounding in her head.

A few more memories flew by without much thought until finally; a new memory settled in and started the show.

Ash was standing in what looked to be an arena. Stands surrounded the whole area with some Pokemon fighting on them and the majority fighting in the arena. The cloned Pokemon picked their counterparts and initiated a battle. The stands didn't stand a chance at survive. Pokemon dodged attacks from both sides, causing damage to the stands to the point where they were smoothed down and the new curve rounded down the walls to the arena. Pikachu stood in the middle of the arena, fighting with her clone as it attacked. Lightening, the most powerful Ash had seen Pikachu emit, sparked up around the pair and lashed out towards Pikachu's clone.

The battle between all of the clones was fierce but none more so than the battle between Mew and Mewtwo. With their psychic abilities and being able to fly, they flew around the arena, up into the stands and down into the depth of the arena. They hurled energy balls and attacks at each other, a few missing and slamming into the battle field below them. Most, however, collided with Mew and Mewtwo themselves.

At last, an attack collided with the wall beside Mew and she was thrown to the ground. Mewtwo lowered himself down, glaring at Mew. She rose unsteadily to float and look at her cloned counterpart with sadness in her eyes. Amy could see in her teary eyes that she hadn't wanted things to go this way.

With one final breath, preparing themselves for death, the two psychic Pokemon gathered their attacks and launched them at one another. They were on a collision course with the other but Ash stepped in, running forward and shouting at the two Pokemon to stop.

A bright flash of light lit up the arena, temporarily blinding the Pokemon in the arena as well as Brock and Misty. After a few seconds, the light died down to reveal Ash on the ground, as grey as stone. Pikachu screamed in horror, bounding toward her trainer. She began to shake Ash, trying to wake him up as if he were asleep. Ash's whole body rocked with the movements, sounding very much like stone rubbing against stone.

Once Pikachu realised what had truly happened to Ash, she began to cry, wailing in grief as her partner no longer moved. Despite the fighting that had occurred moments before, all of the Pokemon turned to watch the scene before them, many of them being brought to tears at the immense pain in Pikachu's screams. Pokemon and clone alike cried for the one human who had sacrificed everything to bring peace between them.

The memory left Amy then, leaving her exhausted beyond belief and tears flowing like a river from her eyes. Sobs broke out in her throat. The others, aside from Mew, Celebi and Ash looked at her in confusion and shock. Amy turned her tear stricken gaze upon Mew and uttered, "How could you?"

Instantly, Mew knew she was referring to the moment where her attack and Mewtwo's had collided and turned Ash to stone. Tears welled up in her eyes and spilled over. They slipped from her face in drops, splashing quietly on the table beneath her. "_We didn't mean to do it, Amy_," she whispered, feeling her heart clench at the look of betrayal on her young friend's face.

That look of betrayal was quickly replaced by one of anger. Ash's sister jumped up from her seat, slamming her hands on the table in front of her. Her eyes cast a murderous glare on Mew, who shrank back in slight fear. "It doesn't matter if you _meant_ to do it, Mew!" Amy roared. "What matters is that you _did_ do it and it _did_ happen! Nothing you say can excuse what you and your clone did to my brother, an innocent bystander!"

Mew flinched at the harshness of Amy's voice. She'd never had anyone speak so harshly to her but she knew she deserved it. Despite the emotional intensity of the situation back then, it was still no excuse for their actions at the time. They not only caused harm to Ash, which was fortunately able to be reversed, but could have caused further damage to both the Pokemon and their cloned counterparts. It was a very dark moment in her past; one Mew wished she could forget.

But that wasn't a luxury that she had.

"I almost lost my brother and I never would have known him. Do you realise how much that thought hurts? To know that my twin could have died years ago and I wouldn't have even met him, let alone known him?" Amy asked Mew, tears in her voice and sliding in thick trails down her cheeks.

Mew hated the way Amy was looking at her. Broken, like someone who had just been told that their family was already gone.

May watched in stunned silence as did the rest of the people at the table. Despite knowing her brother for only mere days, Amy already had a bond with him like she had been with him all of their lives. May supposed that it was because of their twin bond but it also felt like something more than that. A deeper connection than just being twins: a bond of their auras.

Suddenly, May felt the arms around her stiffen before one shot out to place a hand on Amy's arm. Both May and Amy looked at the boy who had been lost in his thoughts until that moment and saw it was looking between them, with a soft, loving look on his face. It changed slightly when he looked at Amy, as if pleading with her through his eyes. He eased May off of his lap slowly, dropping a sweet kiss to her hair and moved to embrace his distraught sister. Her arms wrapped tightly around her brother, sobbing fiercely into his chest. Ash rubbed his hands over her trembling back. He looked at Mew over Amy's shoulder and saw Celebi trying to console her while Mew herself just looked on helplessly, realising the pain that could have been caused by her actions. Not just hers but that of her clones.

Ash wished he could go and comfort Mew as well, knowing it wasn't her fault he had stepped in and risked himself for her, Mewtwo and all of the other Pokemon, originals and clones, but right now, his sister needed him more.

Meanwhile, not far away, Mewtwo felt the distress of Mew and Amy. He had been keeping an eye on Mew and the twins. It startled him to feel such distress from the two of them and he almost teleported to their location but his instincts were telling him that he needed to stay in the shadows a little longer. Amy had a lot of emotions she needed to unload after she had learned the truth about what he and Mew had done to her twin and he could feel that Mew needed to listen to all that Amy had to say, not only for Amy's benefit but also Mew's.

Both he and Mew didn't really know how Amy felt about the thought of not ever being able to know her brother. While Mewtwo still didn't understand much about humans, he did at least understand that the bond between family was as strong as they come, even stronger than the bond that had developed between Mew and Mewtwo after their attack on each other.

This was a moment for him to stand back and watch, not interfere.

Brock, Max, Misty, Lucario and Lady Irene looked at them with shock written on their faces. For Brock and Misty, they felt like they should know exactly what was going on and it frustrated them that they had no idea. It was obvious that something bad had happened to Ash and it was caused by Mew and her clone but try as they might, they couldn't figure out what had happened. All any of them knew now was that Amy was so distressed that her own twin had to bring her into his arms and whisper sweet nothings into her ear, reassuring her with soothing rubs along her back and shoulders that he was there, still alive with her, that he wasn't going to leave her without a fight.

"We've been through so much to end up where we are now and I am not going to let anything happen to either of us. You're a part of me now, just as I'm a part of you. Never forget that," Ash whispered fiercely, squeezing Amy once more in reassurance before releasing her. He was happy to see a smile once again on her beautiful but tear stained face.

Amy nodded, smiling and turned back towards the group before her. She blushed slightly when everyone gave her looks of shock, knowing it was from her outburst.

"I'm sorry, everyone. I just… lost control of myself for a moment there," Amy hesitated, not knowing what to exactly to call her outburst.

The others seated around the table relaxed, sensing that the hostile atmosphere had dissipated. The air was still heavy with tension between Mew and Amy but the edge had been taken off, slightly relaxing the other people in the room. But there was one thing that still had to be sorted out.

Mew's past actions against Ash as well as her clone's.

Suddenly, Mewtwo flashed into the room using his teleportation ability. He stood with his arms crossed over his chest and his face impassive. Mewtwo had sensed that the hostile atmosphere had gone and so he teleported into the room to face Amy, knowing she would have questions that he would need to answer.

Brock, May, Max and Misty jumped at the sudden appearance of Mewtwo while Lady Irene and Amy gasped. Ash just smiled at Mewtwo like he was an old friend. He walked over to Mewtwo, looking up at him ad he looked down warily, wondering what Ash was up to. It came as a shock when Ash suddenly embraced him. He stood stiff for a few moments, sure that this wasn't really happening. Once it sunk in that Ash was hugging him, Sir Aaron's only son and the boy who he had almost seriously hurt, he loosely wrapped his arms around him. Mewtwo made sure to keep his grip loose in case Ash decided to pull away from him.

Mewtwo wasn't surprised when Ash pulled back but he, and everyone else, was surprised when Ash began to speak softly to him, "I don't blame either of you or what happened. It was an accident and I know you wouldn't harm me, either of you."

Ash turned towards Mew, the tears slowly drying on her face. He stood beside the table and beckoned Mew closer, waiting patiently as Mew stared at him in confusion. Slowly, almost reluctantly, she hovered closer. A part of her was afraid that Ash would draw her closer just so he could take his own anger out on her, just as his sister had done.

What he did do surprised not only her but everyone else as well.

He _hugged_ her. Reached out with his long arms and pulled her into a hug against his chest. Mew's eyes bulged in shock and froze.

Ash sighed at feeling Mew freeze. He wasn't angry with her but she still thought he was, after all of this time. He never blamed her or Mewtwo but Mew saw their attack on Ash as something he would no doubt be angry over. He half wondered if she would feel better if he did get angry with her, if he yelled at her and blamed her for something that wasn't her fault. In his opinion anyway.

Despite being locked in his thoughts earlier, what had brought him out was the anguish in Amy's voice. He listened to her words and realised that Mew's and Mewtwo's actions hit her hard and the consequences of their actions if it had been permanent.

But he needed Amy to know that he didn't and had never blamed them for what had happened to him. For that matter, Mew and Mewtwo needed to know that as well and understand why he never blamed them.

Untangling his arms from Mew enough to pull back so he could look her in the face, Ash began to speak. "Mew, I never blamed you, or Mewtwo. You didn't intend for me to get hurt and I know that it was a dark time for the both of you." Ash looked around the room towards Mewtwo, Amy, then May, Max, Brock and lastly, Lady Irene and Celebi. "Both Mew and Mewtwo never wanted to harm me and I know that both feel terrible. Mewtwo even tried to erase my memory of that time so I wouldn't remember and feel the anger toward them that they expect I feel."

Gasps sounded around the room when Ash revealed that Mewtwo had tried to erase his memory.

"I remembered what happened back then and even when I did remember, I never felt any anger towards them. I never blamed them for what happened because they didn't have any control over any of it. Team Rocket and their leader caused all of this. It's them that should be blamed. And I do blame them because their actions not only led to what happened to me but they hurt two innocent Pokemon along the way."

Mewtwo looked at Ash in a mixture of confusion and a little awe. "Two _innocent_ _Pokemon_?" He questioned telepathically. If anyone of them was innocent back then, it was Ash. Not him or Mew.

Ash turned towards Mewtwo and looked at him with a sparkle in his eyes. He smiled. "Yes, Mewtwo. _Two_ innocent Pokemon. You were just as innocent in that situation as Mew was. It was the circumstances that Team Rocket made that caused what happened to happen."

Mewtwo suddenly couldn't control himself. He launched at Ash, tears in his eyes, and hugged him fiercely to himself. May gasped and was about to call forth one of her Pokemon to protect her new boyfriend (and just calling him her boyfriend felt both weird and exciting to May) but when she saw that the only thing Mewtwo had don't was wrap his arms tightly around her love, drawing him in for an embrace of friendship, May relaxed. A slightly shaken smile crossed her lips at the sight.

The other occupants of the room barely had the time to gasp and instead, stared on in amazement that one of the most powerful Pokemon in the world was crying into their friend's shoulder.

For Mewtwo, this embrace was calming for him as well as relieving. No-one had ever told him that he was innocent in all of what happened with Team Rocket and their scientists. He'd been wracked with guilt over it all for years and now, it seemed like he could finally let it all go.

And now he had a new friend in Ash, maybe he really could.


	12. Chapter 12

_Hello my faithful readers!_

_No, I have not disappeared. I'm still here, still alive._

_It took a few weeks longer than we thought to get our internet back and although we've had it for about three weeks now, I haven't really had the urge to write. A lot of issues have been coming up, such as my college work, friend dramas and personal issues to deal with as well. It's a battle but I'm managing so far. I've been writing very little pieces at a time in the last month, sometimes only a few words. But tonight, something happened. My muse just gave me this idea, this spark to keep writing and so I've been writing away for the better part of an hour to get this finished. From around 1,800 words before I started tonight to somewhere up in the 4,000's, I have to say I'm proud I got it done that quickly for you guys. I hate leaving you hanging like this but I'm back with a new chapter now and finally have the urge to keep writing more and more! Yes! Hahaha._

_There's a small part near the end that a few people will find interesting. I expect I'll have some reviews asking about it when I come on in a couple days. Oh, by the way, how did everyone like the little Mewtwo-has-emotions part in the last chapter? Your feedback and thoughts are always appreciated._

_And without anymore babble, here it is guys. Chapter 12 (oh my god! Seems like yesterday that I was writing chapter one. Time goes by so fast!)! Please don't forget to **review, favourite and story alert!**_

**X-X**

"_Swellow, I think I see it! Just over that last ridge and down the hill. Then we're home free_!" Kirlia called. She recognised the distinct red roof that poked out from just beyond the top of the ridge about a hundred yards in front of them.

Swellow trilled back, "_Hurry! We must make it there before we're found!_"

Astrea's five Pokemon hurriedly dashed towards their destination. In a few moments, they would be home free. Crixus' Pokemon wouldn't be able to find them once they were at the Pokemon Centre and it would take time to deploy his henchmen. By that time, they would already be far from Cameron.

"_Pichu!_" Kirlia heard her 'sister' cry from behind her. She slowed to a stop, sensing Swellow do the same, and looked back.

Pichu had tripped over a rather large stone sticking out from the ground. The sharp edge had cut into her leg, causing a small amount of blood to seep out and matt the fur surrounding the wound. Growlithe was beside her, checking the wound for any pieces of stone or wood, that might have been imbedded when she tripped over the stone into a pile of twigs and leaves, or for a broken bone.

Luckily, Growlithe saw that Pichu's leg wasn't broken and there were no pieces of debris in the cut on her leg. Shaking her head slightly and murmuring to herself for a moment, Growlithe then looked up at Swellow. She tilted her head, beckoning him silently to come closer as she didn't want to arouse any nearby Pokemon or risk Crixus' own Pokemon finding them.

Swellow moved closer while Kirlia stayed in the same place as where she had stopped. She wanted to be prepared if any unfriendly Pokemon or humans turned up. So she stood guard over her 'family'.

Mudkip stood panting beside his fallen sibling. His knees shook and his heart pounded in his chest. They had been running all day and he was beginning to get exhausted as they hadn't arrived anywhere safe for them to rest. Crixus' Pokemon were not far from them. If they didn't move soon, they would be captured and would never be able to help their dear trainer.

"_Ow_," Pichu mumbled, rubbing her ankle carefully. She knew there was a cut on her leg that was bleeding and her ankle had caught on the rock, which had sent her tumbling. Her ankle throbbed under her fingers and she knew she wouldn't be able to walk any further. It was the same leg she had hurt a few days before and this time, Pichu was sure it was worse than a sprain.

"_I don't think she can walk_," Growlithe said worriedly. She surveyed the damage and nudged Pichu's ankle with her nose. Pichu jumped back, giving a small cry of pain at the action. She shook her head rapidly and then looked up at Swellow, along with Growlithe and Kirlia who stood just behind Swellow.

Swellow stood there for a moment, trying to think of how to carry Pichu to the Pokemon centre. Growlithe couldn't because of her body temperature, Kirlia didn't have the strength and he wasn't sure if carrying Pichu in his talons would be a good idea to do.

Just as Swellow was about to open his mouth to voice these concerns with his 'family', Mudkip shuffled forward, still panting heavily and quickly lifted Pichu up onto his back, running off towards the Pokemon centre.

"_Mudkip!_" Kirlia, Swellow and Growlithe called from behind him. Mudkip ignored them, pushing his body to run faster. Pichu bounced lightly on his back, her tiny paws gripping the fur behind his neck.

Swellow grumbled under his breath but flapped his wings and took off after Mudkip, Kirlia and Growlithe following right behind him.

Mudkip ran, dodging rocks and small bushes that popped up in his path. Mudkip could tell that Swellow was annoyed with him. And Mudkip honestly just didn't care.

Swellow might not have noticed but there were Pokemon following closely behind them. They hid in the trees and in the bushes whenever he looked back but Mudkip saw their eyes through the leaves. He pretended not to notice for a little while until he saw that the Pokemon following them were increasing in numbers, preparing for an ambush.

A branch zoomed closer towards him and he ducked to narrowly escape being knocked down. Pichu let out a small whimper at her injured leg being jostled but gripped Mudkip's fur tighter in her hands as he continued on, ignoring his own throbbing ankle. While ducking under the branch, his ankle had collided with a stray tree root and it throbbed with a searing pain that had Mudkip stumbling before regaining his balance.

Behind them, Swellow, Kirlia and Growlithe were chasing after them. Swellow cursed himself quietly when he finally noticed the many Pokemon following them, jumping from bush to bush, tree to tree to keep Swellow's 'family' in their sights. A rogue Zubat flew just below the branches that hid his fellow soldiers, Swellow saw, and took a deep breath, preparing for an attack of Confusing Ray.

Pichu chose that moment to look over her small shoulder and spotted the Zubat flying closer to them, and screamed.

Mudkip heard Pichu scream but it was like his body was on auto-pilot. The only thing on his mind was reaching the Pokemon centre and finding help. His legs pushed harder and he ran faster, ducking around trees to avoid Zubat's attacks. Mudkip's side brushed against one of the trees with rough bark and he winced, feeling the small, bleeding cuts with each movement of his legs.

A moment later, the attacks stopped.

Flying on the crest between Swellow's wings, Kirlia's eyes glowed a brilliant purple. She had used Psychic to stop Zubat from attacking her family. The Zubat tried to struggle against her hold but it was no use. Still moving forward with Swellow and Growlithe, Kirlia held the Zubat in place, waiting until they had all passed before she used her power to throw him up into the tree canopy and released him, sending him crashing into more Zubats that frantically tried to untangle themselves but ended up falling in a mess on the ground, hard. Their eyes swirled in their unconsciousness state.

Satisfied that the Zubats had been taken care of, Kirlia held onto Swellow tightly and silently urged them to make it to their destination unharmed.

Growlithe growled as she heard the heavy footfalls of the Pokemon clambering to reach them from behind. The light rumble beneath her feet told her that some of the Pokemon had burrowed underground in hopes of reaching them quicker than their fellow soldiers on the surface.

Suddenly, about ten feet in front of Growlithe, a Diglett burst out of the ground hoping to halt Growlithe in her tracks. He didn't anticipate that Growlithe would simply leap on top of his head and force him back into the maze of tunnels he and the other Digletts had made and unleash a flamethrower directly into the tunnel system.

The Digletts came flying up out of the scorched earth moments later, unconscious.

"_Come on! Not much further!_" Swellow pushed the group. In a matter of moments, they would achieve their goal and not even the Master's Pokemon henchmen would be able to touch them.

If they could only avoid the gaining Pokemon for just mere moments, they could find help for their trainer.

Just a few more moments.

Already, Mudkip could feel the barrier that Astrea spoke to them of. The intense energy had him stumbling for a split second before righting himself. It was similar for Kirlia who felt the barrier due to her psychic ability. The other Pokemon glided through, the barrier unnoticed by them.

They were only a few feet away from the Pokemon centre when Mudkip stopped in his tracks and spun around to glance back at the Pokémon following them. The others skidded to a stop just past Mudkip and looked back over their shoulders to see why he had stopped.

What they saw shocked and amazed them.

About fifty feet away, crawling over the top of each other like insects, the Pokemon piled up right in front of the barrier. A mix of Zubats, Rattatas, Ekans, Spinaraks, Arons, and Croagunks glared with red eyes towards their target clawed at the barrier that kept them from reaching their target. Using their attacks on the barrier, the Pokemon tried to breach the barrier enough to send even one of their soldiers through.

Mudkip smiled tiredly at them before collapsing on the ground in front of the Pokemon centre. His exhausted legs couldn't hold up Pichu's weight anymore and when he crashed into the ground, the force jolted his sore bones. He was barely aware of himself letting out a tiny cry of pain. Pichu let out a cry of surprise when she felt herself drop but that quickly turned into fear when she felt Mudkip's rapid breathing.

"_Swellow!_" She cried in fright.

Swellow snapped back around, his heart pounding in his chest. Seeing Mudkip on the ground, panting harshly and shaking with over-exertion drove Swellow to act. He cried out for Mudkip, flinging himself forward to check his condition.

Mudkip could feel his heart beating rapidly; felt the sweat trickling down his back under his fur. His vision grew hazy as his mind became groggy. He felt Pichu's fists still clinging to his fur and heard the Pokemon scrambling angrily behind the barrier.

His last thought before losing consciousness was: '_We made it_.'

* * *

"_Swellow!_"

"_Pika?_" Pikachu's ears perked up, twisting around to try and locate the source of the noise.

After the conversation between Mew, Mewtwo, Amy and Ash, the group had relocated to the palace courtyard, all of them needing some fresh air and peaceful scenery. Ash and May sat together on the edge of the fountain while Max and Brock were feeding the other Pokemon some of Brock's home-made Pokemon food. Each Pokemon was happily munching on the food in their individual bowls. Grovyle was even talking with Combusken and twirling his signature twig around his fingers. Combusken seemed excited at finally having a conversation partner in Grovyle and chatted animatedly about the events that had happened today and, most importantly, that their trainers were now united as one and they were both a part of the same team now. Lady Rin and Lucario had situated themselves in a part of the garden, completely visible to Ash and everyone else that seemed alive with Pokemon in the evening light. Pichus climbed around in the trees above them. A pair of Linoones chased each other around a large tree right behind Lady Rin and Lucario, giggling as they went.

Mew and Mewtwo had gone off on their own. Possibly up to the Tree of Life, Ash thought. Both of them needed some time to come to terms with what Ash had revealed and Mewtwo's own emotions. Ash knew he would hear from them when he needed to.

He was the first to notice the distraction on his Pokémon's face and grew concerned when Pikachu didn't answer his first call.

"Pikachu? What's wrong?" Ash asked his Pokemon a little more firmly than the first time.

The change in tone broke Pikachu from her concentration and she looked down at her trainer's face from her position on Ash's shoulder. "_Pikachu, pika, pi, chu,_" Pikachu explained.

Since she and Ash had been travelling since Ash was ten years old, Ash immediately understood what Pikachu was trying to say without any help from Mew or Mewtwo.

"A Pokemon is in trouble?" Ash said, feeling a sense of worry beginning to fill him. The idea of a Pokemon in trouble made his stomach turn to stone.

"_Pikachu!_" Pikachu nodded her head affirmatively.

Looking back towards his sister, his girlfriend and the people who had become almost like family to him, Ash made the quick decision to follow Pikachu to the Pokemon in trouble. When he voiced this decision, he saw understanding in each of their eyes and a look bordering on surprise from Lucario. It didn't surprise Ash that Lucario would look at him that way; after all, he did think that trainers abandoned their Pokemon after what Sir Aaron did to him.

Pikachu hopped down from Ash's shoulder and ran a few feet ahead to the entrance to the gardens. She looked back briefly, then continued on, sensing more than hearing her trainer and his friends chasing after her. Only Lady Rin remained in the garden, absently petting a stray Pichu and praying for the safety of the Pokemon in trouble.

* * *

Slowly, the Pokemon at the barrier stopped piling onto of each other. They glared at their prey, frustrated that they had been thwarted before achieving the task their masters had set for them. For many of them, this meant a stern yelling from their masters, the people they used to call trainers and friends, and more intense training. For others, it meant days of sore muscles and bruises because their masters would take their own frustrations out on them as they had already done many times before.

It didn't help any that all of their masters were loyal servants to Master Crixus. Being loyal to Master Crixus only drove their frustrations and anger to a new level and twisted their beliefs to match his own.

Knowing they had no choice but to retreat back to Master Crixus' castle, the Pokemon hissed at their prey one final time before turning around and retreating into the cover of the forest.

One by one more Pokemon followed those in the tree until there were only a few small stragglers left behind. The glare in their eyes was less intense, feeble in nature. Pichu looked at them with a small hope that they were as reluctant to capture them as they were to be captured but that moment passed when the Pokemon ran into the forest, calling for the others to hurry to the castle. Her heart fell in disappointment and she turned her gaze up to her eldest 'brother' Swellow.

He looked down at her and held her eyes for a moment, then shook his head softly. He knew that even if those Pokemon genuinely were reluctant to participate in their capture, they wouldn't be so willing to make the change to their side. It seemed like such a waste of a possible ally to Swellow.

Pichu looked down, crestfallen. But as she looked down, she suddenly remembered where she was and wondered to herself how she could forget.

"_Mudkip? Can you hear me? Mudkip! Please wake up! Swellow! Mudkip won't wake up!_" Pichu cried in panic.

Swellow snapped his head back in fear for his little 'brother'. Growlithe and Kirlia crowded around Mudkip's unconscious form with him and they began shaking Mudkip in unison.

She shook Mudkip as hard as she could while she was still situated on his back. However, that problem was soon solved for her when Kirlia used her psychic to move Pichu from Mudkip's back and place her carefully on the ground beside him. Once safely on the ground, Pichu shook Mudkip even harder than before. Tears began to gather in her eyes and slid down her yellow, spotted cheeks in a river of pain and fear.

"_Mudkip, please! Wake up for us!_" called Growlithe, tears beginning to pool in her eyes. Kirlia remained silent but her eyes gained a misty look to them. Her hands kept shaking Mudkip by his fur.

"_Mudkip!_" Swellow pleaded worriedly, a strange wetness in his eyes, "_Please little 'brother'!_"

Unknown to the four Pokemon, they had gained the attention of the majority of the square, including one, very special…

"_Pikachu!_"

* * *

Her heart thumped in her chest as she ran, following the distressed cries of the Pokemon in need. The sounds drew her down the village streets, almost crashing into a stall worker and a carriage of Persim berries. Her trainer followed closely behind her with his friends, Brock pausing momentarily to offer a quick apology before continuing on.

Pikachu stopped just around the corner, listening closely. She heard a cry of fright come from her left and took off in that direction. The more she ran, the closer she was to the voices.

At the end of the street was a big square. A large water fountain stood in the middle of the square with children sitting around it and Pokemon swimming in it but none of them seemed all that interested in the water. They were more focused on the commotion happening right on the steps of the Pokemon centre.

A group of Pokemon were huddled around another one on the ground. Hands were shaking the one on the ground, trying to wake him. Moving closer, Pikachu saw the Pokemon on the ground was a Mudkip and he looked like he had been in a fight. Scratches decorated his arms and legs and his face had some dirt on it. His eyes were closed and his breathing was shallow but rapid. Immediately, Pikachu knew these were the Pokemon who had called to her. She rushed forward, calling out to them. "_Pikachu!_"

Each of the three standing Pokemon jumped before turning to her. There was a Growlithe who gazed at Pikachu with curiosity and worry, a tall Swellow who stared down at her with suspicion, and a Kirlia with lilac eyes who smiled softly at Pikachu. A Pichu was crouched on her front legs next to them with her right hind leg curled up near her stomach. It was something all Pichu, Pikachu and Raichu did when they had injured their hind leg.

"_I'm here to help! I heard you up in the castle. Are you all okay?_" Pikachu asked worriedly, scanning each of them again now that she was closer. Aside from obvious signs of stress, exhaustion and a few small scratches, they seemed to be unharmed.

Sparing a glance over his broad shoulder to confirm that the Pokemon at the barrier had dispersed. Swellow stepped up to Pikachu and saw the worry for him and his 'family' in her eyes. He softened slightly, knowing she was only trying to help. He took a breath before he opened his mouth and spoke to her. "_For the most part, we're okay, just tired. Pichu's ankle is hurt as well. But our little 'brother', Mudkip, is only young and he pushed himself past his natural limits. He's passed out and we need to find help for him. Can you help us?_"

Kirlia and Growlithe looked at Swellow in surprise. He was usually the one to be wary of unknown Pokemon and here he was, willing to trust a stray Pikachu with their 'brother'.

Pikachu opened her mouth to reply when she heard Ash calling for her. Over her shoulder, she called back, waving her small arms when her trainer came into view.

Ash spotted Pikachu waving immediately. Even in a crowded square with a dozen or more Pokemon, it was hard to miss the yellow mouse Pokemon.

He ventured over there and saw that Pikachu was surrounded by four other Pokemon, one of which had a tight hold on an unconscious and obviously injured Mudkip. Ash saw cuts and bruises that were almost midden under the mass amounts of blue and orange fur on Mudkip's head and most places on his body that Ash's eyes could assess. It worried him that Mudkip's breathing was so rapid. While Ash was no medical expect, he wasn't sure that it was a good thing the way Mudkip was breathing, even if he was exhausted.

Carefully, so as not to frighten these Pokemon, he bent down and reached out a hand to the very large Swellow who stood in front of the other four. He was well aware of Amy bending down next to him and Brock, May, Max and Lucario standing silently behind him.

Swellow warily approached the outstretched hand and when that hand remained still, he sniffed at it. He smelled something similar to his trainer; he smelt the strong aura pulsing beneath Ash's skin. When this trainer had bent down, Swellow had this overwhelming feeling that he could be trusted and the smell of his pulsating aura only confirmed that for Swellow.

Without warning, he bit harshly into Ash's index finger. Ash jumped at the suddenness of it and yelped but tried to keep still. If he moved more than Swellow thought he should, it wouldn't be good for either of them. As a small drop of the blood welled up from the cut, Swellow licked it clean, knowing his saliva would help Ash's wound heal faster.

"_Your trainer smells greatly of aura, young Pikachu_," He said, "_We accept the help of you and your trainer. But be warned. We have travelled far and tirelessly but we will not hesitate to defend ourselves should the need arise._"

Pikachu nodded and quickly relayed the information to Ash, knowing he would understand. As soon as Ash's expression changed from confusion to understanding, Swellow knew the message had been received. He moved out of Ash's way, instructing Growlithe and Kirlia to do the same. "_He's here to help us. I sense the aura within this one is pure. We can trust him and he knows we will defend ourselves if this trust is found to have been misplaced,_" Swellow told his 'sisters'.

They each nodded and Kirlia and Growlithe moved to the side with Swellow, still wary of the other humans.

While Ash assessed Mudkip's body closer for any further or more serious injuries than the ones he saw originally, Amy reached out her own hand to Kirlia and Growlithe, although not putting the hand any closer than two feet away from them. She didn't want to scare them or have them attack her because of a mistake she could make. So she gave them space.

A moment later, Growlithe was the first to take any interest in Amy's hand other than staring at it. She moved closer, sniffed at it and smelled an aura similar to that of her own trainer. In the next instant, Amy had yelped and was sporting a fresh, bleeding bite mark from Growlithe. Despite the initial pain she felt, Amy didn't remove her hand. Growlithe licked across the wound she had made before she brushed her side against it and put her head under it, hoping for a dearly needed scratch just behind her left ear. No matter how many times she tried, she just couldn't get it without her trainer's help.

Amy smiled, petting Growlithe down her back for a moment before moving to scratch behind both ears, laughing lightly as Growlithe fell to the ground and rolled onto her back for a belly rub. Amy obliged, giggling when Pichu hobbled over to her and rubbed her own head under her hand. Pichu sighed happily when that itchy spot just under her chin was scratched and almost melted under the treatment.

Kirlia laughed at her siblings' antics but she couldn't lose herself to those kind of feelings just yet, not even to the feeling of sleep that was slowly beginning to cloud over her mind. She needed to make sure her 'brother' was being looked after before she could relax.

Kirlia glanced back over where Swellow stood watching their 'sisters' but immediately noticed that Ash and Mudkip were nowhere to be found. Her heart pounded in panic for a split second when she spotted Ash entering the Pokemon centre, calling for help. The look of pure fear and concern on his face left Kirlia with the gut feeling that Ash would take care of her 'brother' as well as any of them would. Astrea would be proud.

With that thought in mind, she closed her eyes and gave into her exhaustion, falling into the waiting arms of the young human boy Kirlia would soon know was named Max. The darkness at the edge of her vision flooded her mind. She knew the battle to stay awake was a losing one and it was a battle she was more than happy to surrender to.


	13. Cover Art Contest!

My faithful readers,

I have a bit of a dilemma.

I don't have a cover image for this story. So I'm holding a contest.

If anyone has a cover art that would suit this story or who can make one with the story name on it, send it along to my PM box or to my email the_3rd_veronica hotmail com. The four finalists will get ten virtual cookies and the chance to submit possible Pokemon selections for the rest of Crixus' team. So far, there's Farfetch'd and Absol. So there are four Pokemon to be selected and each finalist gets to submit four of their own selections.

The winner will get a chapter dedicated to them, along with more cookies and have their artwork displayed as the cover art for this story until it's completion. The Pokemon selections they would have also submitted would be included in the story and credit would be rightfully given to the winner.

I'll be accepting submissions for the next three weeks. After that time, I'll narrow the choices down to the top four and reveal those finalists in the next chapter after I decide. Then, the next chapter after that will have the winner revealed.

So guys, get working! I can't wait to see all the wonderful cover arts you guys come up with :)

-HollyKalina23 (formerly HollyKalinaStabler)

UPDATE! 16th May 2013

I've been getting a few reviews saying that people can't draw so they're going to pass on the contest. I just want to everyone know that you don't have to draw a picture to submit. I will gladly accept edited photos, as long as they are about Pokemon and have the story title on there somewhere. Sorry for the confusion everyone.


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